EVANGELISM 
IN THE CHURCH 

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AN APPEAL TO 


CHRISTIANS 


REV. J. A. SCHAAD 


General Missioner 







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COPYRIGHT' DEPOSID 

























Evangelism in the Church 

AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIANS 


Based Upon: 

The Needs of the Times 

The Teaching of the Scriptures 

The Duty of the Church 

Our Call to Christian Discipleship 



Ret. J. A. Schaad 

General Missioner 


Issued by the 


Commission on Preaching Missions 


1924 


THE NATIONAL COUNCIL 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
Field Department 
281 Fourth Avenue 


New York 



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Copyright, 1924 

BY 

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL 
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 


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JUL-3’24 

©C1A793831 

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COMMENDATORY PREFACE 

I HAVE read this Handbook on “Evangelism in the 
Church” by the Rev. J. A. Schaad, and am very 
glad to commend it to the clergy and laity of the 
Church. 

It is a practical application of the truth that the 
Church is not a “mutual admiration society” or a 
mere refuge for the sinful and sorrowful, but the or¬ 
ganized army of the followers of Christ, who are 
pledged by their Baptism “to fight manfully under 
His banner” and labor for the extension of His 
Kingdom. 

Mr. Schaad has described in clear and convincing 
fashion the needs, the Subjects and the methods of 
personal Evangelism and none can read the book 
without gaining a clearer vision and a stronger Faith. 

(Signed) Thos. F. Gailob, 
President of the National Council. 
October, 1923. 










FOREWORD 


I F America is ever made Christian it will be done 
through the process of Christian Evangelism. 

But, because of abuse and long neglect, Evangel¬ 
ism is not now properly understood. There is need, 
therefore, to reinterpret the word “Evangelism” so 
as to restore to it its apostolic meaning and make it 
serviceable for intelligent modern use. 

Of the many excellent books on Evangelism re¬ 
cently written to arouse and to train Christians for 
this work, there are none, so far as I have discov¬ 
ered, which approach the subject from the viewpoint 
of an American Churchman, as that word is techni¬ 
cally used; or that use the rich material which our 
spiritual heritage from the past naturally places in 
our hands. This book is intended to be a contribu¬ 
tion to meet this need. 

For convenience, the book is divided into three 
parts—Statement of the Idea, New Testament Meth¬ 
ods, Modern Technique. Its brevity leaves much to 
be thought out and done by the individual reader. 
Besides, no detailed plan can be made for a work 
which is so intimately personal, and which will be 
serviceable alike for all persons or parishes. 

The idea is the thing. Having caught the vision 
of a New Testament Evangelism, American Church¬ 
men have the initiative and resourcefulness to restore 
this imperative work to its rightful place in the cor¬ 
porate life of the Church and the personal life of 


Foreword 


Christians, guided only by the Holy Spirit and helped 
by His power. 

It will be seen, from this presentation of the sub¬ 
ject, that the New Testament idea of Evangelism 
is not cqjifined to preaching, or to great “mass meet¬ 
ings” to be held periodically under the leadership of 
an expert. Rather it places emphasis upon the more 
quiet, personal and corporate work to be carried on 
as the regular program of a Christian life. 

The author acknowledges his great indebtedness to 
the other members of the Commission, to the Execu¬ 
tive Staff of the Church Missions House, and to a 
group of experienced laymen, for their constructive 
criticism and suggestions. 

In offering this book to the clergy and laity the 
Commission on Preaching Missions . (Evangelism) 
seeks chiefly to stimulate such private and group 
study as will aid in restoring a sane, New Testament 
Evangelism to the regular program of individual and 
parochial life. 

Recognizing the many imperfections, both in plan 
and technique, of this brief human effort to present 
a divine ideal, we humbly commend it to the prayerful 
consideration of “all who profess and call themselves 
Christians”; but more especially to those who are 
members of that “household of faith,” commonly 
called the Episcopal Church in America. 

J. A. S. 


St. Barnabas Day, June, 1924. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PART ONE 


PAGE 

Chapter I. The Need of Christian Evangelism ... 1 

1. An American Menace. 

2. The Meaning of Majorities. 

3. The Failure of Negative Standards. 

Chapter II. The Nature of Evangelism .4 

1. What Is the Evangel? 

2. An Abuse and a Remedy. 

3. Pulpit and Pew Involved. 

Chapter III. Evangelism in the New Testament Era 9 

1. The Secret of Success. 

2. “The Church in Thy House.” 

3. Analogy and History. 

Chapter IV. Evangelism in the Parish Program . . 15 

1. Analysis of Adult Confirmations. 

2. Every Member Evangelism. 

3. The “400” and Others. 

4. “Saved” or “Lost.” 


Chapter V. The Basis for Evangelism.22 

1. The Joy of Discipleship. 

2. What Is a Witness? The Why? When? Where? 

3. Four Great Questions, and an Answer. 

Chapter VI. Personal Evangelism .27 


1. The Place and Power of Personality in Evangelism. 

2. The Starting Point. 

3. The Prayer Book and Evangelism. 

4. A Question of Methods. 

5. The Larger Circle. 

6. Why Discriminate? 

7. Natural Evangelism. 

8. America Can Be Saved, If. 

Chapter VII. Qualifications for Service. 41 

1. Personal Qualities. 

2. Divine Co-operation. 

3. Sacramental Agencies. 

4. Preparedness for Service. 

5. What Is the Matter? 

6. The Dawning of a Better Day. 






Table of Contents 


PAGE 

Chapter VIII. Our Marvelous Agencies .51 

1. By Christ’s Appointment. 

2. Our Heritage from the Fathers. 

3. A Civic Contribution. 

4. The Question of Church Membership. 


PART TWO 

Chapter I. How Did Jesus Approach Men? .... 63 

1. Looked for Opportunity. 

2. Directed Conversation. 

3. Assumed Capacity for God. 

4. Adapted Methods. 

Chapter II. Modern Psychology and Christ’s Method 67 

1. Practical Psychology. 

2. A Definition. 

3. Natural Technique. 

4. Basic Principles. 

5. Labor and Fruitage. 


Chapter III. Personal Methods of the Apostles . . 74 

1. Christ’s Methods Adaptable by Men. 

2. The Secret of Power. 

Chapter IV; Modern Cases and How to Deal with 
Them .81 


1. The “Case Method” and “Alibis.” 

2. “Nominal Christians.” 

3. Self-Confessed Sinners. 

4. The Self-Righteous Type. 

5. The Intellectuals. 

6. The Confused Type. 

Chapter V. Epilogue .105 

PART THREE 


APPENDIX PAGE 

I. Prayers on Evangelism for Personal Workers . . 109 

II. Bibliography on Evangelism, for Clergy and Laity 116 

III. Official Recognition of Evangelism.118 

IV. Organization of Personal Workers in a Parish . . 121 

V. Endorsement by Experienced Laymen.125 

VI. Printed Matter for Office Records and Personal Use 127 








PART ONE 







t 



































Chapter I 


THE NEED OE CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM 

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin 

is a reproach to any people .” Proverbs 14: 34. 

The imperative need for Christian Evangelism 
is everywhere apparent here in America. Even civic 
and economic authorities are beginning to voice that 
need, as based upon wholly social and material 
grounds. And leading educators in secular institu¬ 
tions are emphatic in expressing their convictions 
along this line because they know that sin is not only 
a “reproach” to, but also the destruction of national 
life. Witness the fall of empires when they have 
plunged below a certain level of morality. 

1. An American Menace 

Our public life fairly reeks with both personal 
and corporate sin. Although human panaceas have 
done their utmost to improve environment and edu¬ 
cation, sin remains the same old destructive force as 
it was in the days when Cain slew his brother Abel, 
and Amon ravished his own sister Tamar, and David 
committed adultery with his friend’s wife, Bathsheba, 
and Israel did business with wicked balances and de¬ 
ceitful weights. And there is no human remedy for it. 

The responsibility to give a knowledge of salva¬ 
tion through faith in Jesus Christ is, therefore, as 
urgent upon us now as it was when Christ laid it upon 
[ 1 ] 


2 Evangelism in the Church 

the hearts of His first Apostles in the days of His 
earthly life. 

2. The Meaning of Majorities 

There is another phase of this matter which 
needs more serious-minded attention than is now being 
given to it, because it involves the future of our na¬ 
tional life. If our Government statistics present the 
facts, half of our American people are not even nomi¬ 
nal members of any form of organized religion! And 
half the children of this generation receive no definite 
religious instruction! 

In a certain city of over a million of population 
the combined seating capacity of all the churches is 
only 335,000—that is, one seat for every three of 
population. And yet, except on Easter Sunday, 
there are probably three seats for every person pres¬ 
ent. This means that only one-ninth of the people 
regularly attend church at the chief service on 
Sunday! 

This is a more menacing condition than appears on 
the surface; for America is a democracy in which 
majorities rule. It was founded by men, a majority 
of whom were Christians. Hence our civic blessings. 
But it will require the same kind of men to preserve 
as it took to found this great Republic, else we shall 
lose our unique and beneficent heritage. 

Progress is primarily a question of direction, not 
of speed. Since America seems to be headed in the 
wrong direction, away from the Christian ideals and 
principles of her founders, she cannot truly progress. 
Something must be done to remedy this condition. 


The Need of Christian Evangelism 3 

In America the Church has the double task of con¬ 
vincing our people that any religion is necessary to 
personal and social welfare; and then, that the Chris¬ 
tian religion best meets that need. 

3. Negative Standards 

Perhaps it is as a result of this that we hear 
the term “non-religious” used in favorable contrast 
with “irreligious”—as if a spiritual vacuum were a 
virtue. What poor praise it is to say of any one, 
“He never did any harm.” The good one has done is 
a far better, if not the only, demonstration of 
praiseworthy character. 

Perhaps it is also as a result of the above low 
ratio of Church membership and attendance that we 
hear much complacent, even condoning, use made of 
the term “unmoral,” contrasting it favorably with 
“immoral”—as if the absence of moral convictions 
were in itself a kind of virtue; and forgetting that 
an wranoral zero may be merely an immoral life with 
the rim of conscience erased! 

But even a perfectly vice-less person would still be 
“far from the Kingdom”; for negative virtues do not 
make one a Christian. The Christian religion is a 
relation with God established by faith in the Person 
and Power and Program of Jesus Christ. And St. 
Paul describes those who are not in such personal 
relation with God, in His appointed way, as “aliens 
. . . . and strangers from the covenants of promise, 
having no hope, and without God in the world”—a 
tragic condition! 

Truly America needs Christian Evangelism. 


Chapter II 


THE NATURE OF EVANGELISM 

“ Behold! I bring you good tidings of great 
joy , which shall be to all people; for unto you is 
born a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord.' 9 St. 
Luke 2:10, 11. 

Christmas Day is the anniversary of the origin of 
Christian Evangelism, and its true interpreter. On 
that Day the Evangel was personalized in the Christ. 

1. What Is the Evangel? 

In the word “Gospel,” God-story, we again have 
the idea that the heart of the Evangel is a divine Per¬ 
son, Jesus Christ, and not a set of doctrines, a code of 
morals and ethics, or a system of philosophy or of 
religion. 

The devout Zacharias also gives us a clear state¬ 
ment of the purpose of Evangelism and of a Christian 
disciple’s relation to that important work. When 
speaking of his own son, he said, “And thou, child, 
. . . . shalt go before the face of the Lord to pre¬ 
pare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto 
His people by the remission of their sins, through the 
tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring 
from on high hath visited us, to give light to them 
that .... sit in the shadow of death, and to guide 
our feet into the way of peace.” 

The divine Saviourhood of Christ is the central 
truth of the Gospel. It is also the supreme need of 
[ 4 ] 


5 


The Nature of Evangelism 

man. And to give a knowledge of these facts is the 
first duty of the Christian Church. 

Christ’s own emphasis upon the fact and deadliness 
of sin, of man’s need for a divine Saviour, and of 
God’s supreme love for man in providing a “ransom 
for many,” is so constant and vivid as to preclude the 
need of discussion or to leave room for doubt among 
persons who profess to believe in Him. 

But Evangelism does not consist simply of sermons 
and mass meetings. It is also, perhaps chiefly, the 
personal witnessing or telling about Christ by laymen 
so as to win men for Christ. Neither does it involve 
any of the things which seem to us to offend reverence 
and good taste. Therefore, no one need be afraid to 
use the good word Evangelism or hesitate to engage 
in that work. 

2. An Abuse and a Remedy 

In contrast with the methods of Christ and of 
the Apostles, a so-called Evangelism has been so 
highly emotionalized, sensationalized and commer¬ 
cialized as to become discredited among thoughtful 
persons. And because of these, and similar abuses, 
our Church has perhaps been warranted in her aloof¬ 
ness from this form of public Evangelism. But the 
abuse of a thing proves nothing at all against the 
right use of it. And there is, therefore, no excuse 
for our neglect of aggressive Christian Evangelism as 
a regular part of the Church’s program. 

Because of these abuses also, the very word “Evan¬ 
gelism” is in disrepute. And it may be necessary to 
wash its face before it will be generally used among 
us. But it is so good a New Testament word; and 


6 


Evangelism in the Church 


it so fitly describes a Christ-ordained and apostolic 
practice, that, at any cost, it must be restored to its 
rightful place in the language and work of the 
Church. 

It would seem, moreover, that the proper way to 
correct an abuse, in or of a Cause, is by doing the 
work through a better method rather than by aban¬ 
doning the Cause itself. 

If emotion has been overdone in popular Evan¬ 
gelism, we should correct that abuse by producing a 
method in which emotion is given its rightful place 
as an agent to move the will Godward. 

If publicity methods have been too sensational, we 
should provide a better way of applying psychology 
to the art of reaching the public. 

If the financial claims and methods of some modern 
evangelists have seemed to be excessive, or to inti¬ 
mate “polite graft” sometimes, that is a matter which 
the consecrated business sense and ability of our 
laymen should easily find a way of correcting. 

But in any case, Christians have no moral right to 
abandon Evangelism itself, simply because of certain 
abuses. 

We are, of course, not alone in this neglect of an 
important work in the Church. An analysis of the 
program of sermons, and of parochial activities, of 
most religious bodies will show that far more effort is 
made to promote the material work of Christianity 
than to enlarge its more spiritual experiences and 
service. 

There are countless laymen who will neither attend 
nor assist in the services of a “revival” or “preaching 
mission.” In fact, some go so far as to oppose any 


7 


The Nature of Evangelism 

such movement by the congregation. Dry rot seems 
to be preferable to parochial growth, if the latter 
must come by way of making disciples of Christ by 
any form of Evangelism. 

3. Pulpit and Pew Involved 

If we turn to the pulpit, which usually inveighs 
against the above, we find indeed eloquence and ele¬ 
gance in expressing Christian ethics, morality, soci¬ 
ology and doctrine. All of them are excellent and 
necessary, in time and place. But many pulpits fail 
almost entirely to deal with the deadly fact of per¬ 
sonal and corporate sin, the immediate necessity of 
repentance, the blessed assurance of divine forgive¬ 
ness, and the joy of restoration by God’s grace. 

A layman once said to me, “Our pastor, a scholar 
and a gentleman whom we all love, never comes nearer 
to the actual facts of our life today than the sins of 
Nebuchadnezzar.” 

The evangelistic note is conspicuously missing from 
the message of most modern pulpits, if published top¬ 
ics are any criterion by which to judge. And the 
evangelistic effort of laymen is equally rare, if their 
reluctance to respond to any appeal for spiritual 
effort is proper evidence. 

There is therefore urgent need for the restoration 
of a sane, active, Christlike Evangelism in the work¬ 
ing program of all churches. To urge this is not 
to belittle the other practical work which they are 
doing, but rather to give it the spiritual motive and 
dynamic necessary to make it qualify as really Chris¬ 
tian work. Mere humanitarianism, however effective 
in other ways, can never do that. 


8 


Evangelism in the Church 


On the pastoral side of such a program of Evan¬ 
gelism there would be, besides the spiritual prepara¬ 
tion of one’s own life several definite things: 

(a) Specific purpose. St. Paul said of his 
own life-purpose, “I am made all things to all 
men, that I might by all means save some.” 
I Corinthians 9:22. 

(b) The careful planning of sermon pro¬ 
grams with a view not only to the edification or 
instruction of believers, and the giving of the 
social message, but also to the arousing of men 
to repentance from personal and corporate sin; 
and to the fact and power of a divine Saviour 
who loves thenl, and calls them to be His friends 
and disciples. 

(c) The pastor-evangelist must study his 
Bible from a different point of view than is com¬ 
mon to mere scholarly research; for he who 
would save souls must be not only an intellectual 
chemist but also a spiritual dietitian. More¬ 
over, he must familiarize himself with modern 
methods of Evangelism, so as to be able to 
choose and to adapt the best for his own use. 
And he must know human nature, psycholog¬ 
ically and from direct personal contact. 

(d) The unfailing use of the Church’s regular 
provision in the Christian Year, for the seasonal 
preaching of repentance, the effort to conversion, 
the emphasis upon regeneration and the judg¬ 
ment, and the urgent need of personal prepara¬ 
tion for the life of the world to come, as well as 
for that which now is. 


The Nature of Evangelism 


9 


(e) Opportunity should be provided, and 
proper announcement of it given, for persons 
in the congregation to see the pastor immedi¬ 
ately after every service for personal interviews 
on their religious life. 

The relation of laymen to such a parochial pro¬ 
gram will be treated in a special chapter on “Per¬ 
sonal Evangelism.” So we may pass it here, except 
to say that there is little use in having the pulpit 
aflame with the fire of Evangelism, if the pew persists 
in conducting Church affairs as a refrigerating plant. 
Sinners desiring to come to Christ would freeze to 
death in such an environment. 


Chapter III 


EVANGELISM IN THE NEW 
TESTAMENT ERA 

“The Lord added daily to the Church such 

as were being saved .” Acts 2: 47. 

Think of it! Daily additions of new Christian 
believers to the membership of the Church! How was 
this great result accomplished? Not by miracle or 
magic; but by the specific method of clerical and lay 
Evangelism. 

1. The Secret of Success 

The words evangel, evangelist and to evangelize, 
occur about 129 times in the New Testament. That 
is enough to make it certain that Evangelism had a 
large place in the thought and practice of the apos¬ 
tolic Church. And any Church which claims apos¬ 
tolic roots may justly be expected to produce similar 
apostolic fruits. 

“Do the work of an evangelist and make full proof 
of thy ministry,” was the admonition of St. Paul to 
the young Bishop Timothy. It was because the 
clergy of that period seem to have been diligent in 
that work that we read also, “And the Lord added 
to the Church daily such as were being saved.” And 
one may suggest again that similar apostolic success 
may, with some reason, be expected from a Church 
having the apostolic succession. 

[ 10 ] 


Evangelism in the New Testament Era 11 

Philip, the evangelist, so faithfully preached “The 
things concerning the Kingdom of God” that 
“Samaria received the Word of God.” And the Apos¬ 
tles at Jerusalem were obliged to make a special trip 
to that place for the purpose of confirming the large 
number who were converted and baptized under the 
ministry of Philip. The same kind of preaching to¬ 
day will produce similar results, in kind even if not 
in number. 

An important factor of evangelistic success by the 
clergy is given us in St. Luke’s description of the 
Apostle, St. Barnabas. He says that he was not 
only “a good man,” but also that he was “full of the 
Holy Ghost and of faith.” As a result, “much peo¬ 
ple was added unto the Lord.” Faith and the Holy 
Ghost. They are still essential to Evangelism. 

The history of the Church shows that, during 1900 
years, the spiritual life of the people has always been 
rescued from its ebbs to full tide again by evangelists. 
What its philosophers and theologians could not do, 
namely, convert sinners, the evangelists have done. 
And a restoration of the evangelistic note to the 
preaching of modern times will produce the same 
result. 

2. “The Church in Thy House” 

We have New Testament authority and precedent 
also for definite Evangelism by the laity. Sometimes 
this was done by individuals, working alone; at others 
by laymen, working in groups, under the leadership 
of a devout layman. 

Although the Apostles ordained certain men who 
had been specifically set aside for the administrative 


12 


Evangelism in the Church 


work of the rapidly growing Church, these also, and 
most effectively, engaged in so witnessing for Christ 
that many people were converted. And, beyond that, 
it seems as if all baptized and confirmed persons of 
that period considered it a part of their duty, in the 
exercise of the “priesthood of the laity,” to do evan¬ 
gelistic work. Consider, in this connection, only three 
Scriptural references: 

(a) The case of Aquila and Priscilla, his 
wife, once of Rome and often associated with 
St. Paul at Corinth, Ephesus and elsewhere. 
Acts 18:2, 18, 26. More than once he sent 
greeting to them and “to the Church that is in 
their house.” ftomans 16: 3-5. 

(b) Nymphas also seems to have had a group 
of active Christian workers meeting with him at 
Laodicea, for St. Paul sends greeting, not only 
to “the brethren which are in Laodicea” (i. e. 
the parish in general) but also to “Nymphas 
and the Church which is in his house.” 
Colossians 4:15. 

(c) Philemon is another to whom, after nam¬ 
ing other Christians in the town, St. Paul and 
St. Timothy both send apostolic blessing, “and 
to the Church that is in thy house.” Philemon 2. 

In the first two of the above passages there can 
be no doubt that there is a difference between the 
group described as “the Church that is in his (or 
their) house” and the whole congregation of Chris¬ 
tians which composed the local parish. In the first 
case St. Paul addressed his letter to “all that be in 
Rome, called to be saints,” and then concluded this 


Evangelism in the New Testament Era 13 

parish letter with a special greeting to individuals 
among whom are “Aquila and Priscilla .... and 
the Church that is in their house.” 

In the second case St. Paul specifically mentions 
“the brethren which are in Laodicea,” and then sin¬ 
gles out for special mention “Nymphas, and the 
Church which is in his house,” and asks that his let¬ 
ter be “read also in the Church of the Laodiceans.” 

Some commentators upon these passages call atten¬ 
tion to the “marked antithesis” between these domes¬ 
tic centers which are under the leadership of laymen, 
and the parochial congregation addressed, for exam¬ 
ple, as “the Church of God which is in Corinth,” 
“Thessalonica,” “Laodicea,” etc. 

How these groups were organized we can only 
guess. What methods of work they used we gather 
only by inference. But of how much force and help 
they were in spreading the Gospel “from house to 
house” may be clearly known from the warm greet¬ 
ings and frank expressions of appreciation and de¬ 
pendence upon them which St. Paul sends to these 
group leaders in his letters to the local Churches in 
Rome and in Asia Minor. And it would be interest¬ 
ing to know how many Churches of the apostolic age 
owe their origin to the labors of faithful laymen. 

Such special work by laymen would be of equal 
value today in extending the Kingdom of Christ in 
the hearts of men. The plan is worth trying in every 
parish. 

3. Analogy and History 

Whether the work of Evangelism was done by the 
clergy or laity, by public preaching or personal 


14 


Evangelism in the Church 


effort, at special seasons or as a part of a regular 
program, the one outstanding fact of New Testament 
history is that Christianity was evangelistic. 

If any further defense is needed for this form of 
Christian work we can find it in the following: 

(a) It is as natural as seed time and harvest, 
being the normal process by which increase is 
made and human needs supplied. 

(b) It is historic, having been God’s way of 
calling sinners to repentance and stimulating the 
spiritual life of humanity in all ages. 

(c) It is effective, as is shown by the greater 
progress of Christianity during all periods of 
active Evangelism. 

In fact, “evangelize or die” is the teaching alike of 
the Bible and history, regarding the Church. 


Chapter IV 

EVANGELISM IN THE PARISH PROGRAM 

“ Publicly , and from house> testifying both 
. ... to repentance towards God , and faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ .” Acts 20: 20, 21. 

How, but by Evangelism, can America be saved? 
And how else can the American Church, of which we 
are members, fulfil her divine mission? Or, how, ex¬ 
cept by doing that work, can organized Christianity 
keep pace with the growth in population and so main¬ 
tain • her place among the vital institutions of our 
country? These are crucial questions. They de¬ 
mand an answer. Christians must give it. 

In 1922, we reported a net gain of 3 per cent of 
our former membership. It is significant that in our 
foreign missionary districts the Church membership 
was increased 13 per cent! With fewer workers and 
less money in relation to their task, but with a more 
ardent Evangelism, our foreign workers outclassed 
us more than fourfold in spiritual results. 

1. Analysis of Adult Confirmations 

It might perhaps be humiliating if we could 
know how small a proportion of the net increase in 
Church membership was composed of adults who were 
actually converted to Christ by our efforts during 
the year. One of the seven largest communions re¬ 
ported that there was an average of less than two 
[ 15 ] 


16 Evangelism in the Church 

adult baptisms per organized congregation during 
1922-23. 

We know, and rejoice, that large numbers of young 
people from our own Church Schools are confirmed 
annually. We also know that among our confirma¬ 
tion candidates are many adults who, without solici¬ 
tation, have come to us from other Christian com¬ 
munions on the grounds of historical and doctrinal 
conviction, or because of the spiritually cultural sys¬ 
tem of our Church. But what direct spiritual im¬ 
press have we made upon the large number of Amer¬ 
ican people who yield no actual allegiance to Jesus 
Christ? 

Here, in this last fact, is the raison d'etre for 
placing Evangelism in the program of every parish of 
every Christian communion in America. 

With the high percentage of non-Christians in 
America ranging from the moral scum at the top of 
its parasitic life to the moral dregs at the bottom 
of its social order; with its high rate of non-effectives 
in the membership lists of its churches; with its 
national, social and personal sins, our country offers 
the greatest possible opportunity and need for the 
call to repentance. The need for a sane Evangelism 
is urgent because, unlike “darkest Africa,” we Amer¬ 
icans are sinning against light and high privilege, and 
are spurning a known divine love. 

2. Every Member Evangelism 

As an agency for meeting this situation, it is 
proposed that Evangelism be made a regular depart¬ 
ment in our parochial program. By this means, two 
forces would be at work for winning disciples for 


Evangelism in the Parish Program 17 

Christ: Corporate Evangelism, to bring men to the 
Gospel (in the Church), and personal Evangelism, to 
bring the Gospel to men (in their homes, at work or 
play). 

This plan has already been tried most effectively in 
one parish, as a division of the Church Service 
League. And in another, the rector is developing 
what he calls a “sales force” of 80 men for this work. 
One might call this kind of work an “every member 
canvass for souls”—every member being enlisted for 
such service. 

A report from a group of religious bodies in other 
cities gives the following figures to indicate the re¬ 
sults of such parochial Evangelism among them. 

54 laymen, working in groups, secured 132 
members in 1 week. 

70 laymen, working in groups, secured 192 
members in 1 week. 

120 laymen, working in groups, secured 261 
members in 2 weeks. 

100 laymen, working in groups, secured 532 
members in 6 months. 

400 laymen, working in groups, secured 1194 
members in 3 weeks. 

And all this without publicity, “revival meetings,” or 
the use of emotional excitement, as agencies. 

After granting any reasonable criticism that may 
be made of these numerical results, the fact remains 
that in such personal Evangelism lies the solution of 
the Church’s problem of winning men for Christ, and 
also of parochial growth itself. 


18 


Evangelism in the Church 


We cannot all “preach the Gospel,” but we can 
talk , i. e., tell others about Christ, and try to secure 
them as His disciples, using His Church as the chan¬ 
nel of grace and the field of service for Him. 

Such an organization of personal workers would be 
effective, not only in the regular performance of its 
specific duties during the year, but also in the prep¬ 
aration of a parish for a Preaching Mission, in co¬ 
operation with it during that time, and in conserving 
the results accruing from it. 

The objection has been made that to undertake this 
work in an organized way is in innovation, contrary 
to precedent and churchly use. Well, even if it were 
(which it is not) that would argue nothing vital 
against it; for every one who studies the situation 
knows that methods of doing Church work are in 
need of considerable revision. 

If ever there was a time in American history when 
the Church, as well as our non-Christian population, 
needed to hear the positive evangelistic note in the 
message from the pulpit, and from the personal testi¬ 
mony of individual Christian believers, that time is 
now. 

National idealism, social morality and personal 
spirituality are at low ebb. Nothing can restore these 
virtues except the work of Christian Evangelism. 

3. The “400” and Others 

We are accustomed to associate Evangelism 
with our Lord’s commission to His Church in relation 
to foreign missions, or in the frontiers of humanity, 
in the vast stretches of our domestic missionary dis¬ 
tricts, or in the backgrounds of our social life in the 


Evangelism in the Parish Program 19 

slums of our great cities. Yes, the remote, the iso¬ 
lated and the congested people do need to be evan¬ 
gelized. 

But how about the social “400,” the inhabitants of 
the boulevards and millionaires’ rows, the members of 
the exclusive clubs, the average people of our towns, 
the clerks and workmen in our commerce and indus¬ 
tries—each group with its own particular kind of sin? 
Do they not need the call to repentance, the joy of 
pardon, and the comfort of God’s grace? Have they 
no right to a share in the “good tidings which shall 
be to all people”? 

If it is even approximately true that sixty per cent 
of our people are outside the membership of organized 
Christianity, the Church, then Christians should give 
an immediate and effective answer to two questions: 
What are your pulpit and pews doing to win these 
non-Christians for Christ? What am I doing to 
bring even one soul to Him? 

The placing of emphasis upon Christian Evan¬ 
gelism is in no sense a reflection upon the many other 
fine things which the Churches are now doing in 
America,—Christian social service, more intelligent 
methods of religious education, seeking to incorporate 
Christian principles into modern business, industry 
and politics. Of them all we must, however, say in 
the words of Christ, “These things ought ye to have 
done, and not to have left the other (Evangelism) un¬ 
done” ; for all of these things are either the means to 
the end of Evangelism, or the fruitage of it. 

Failure to recognize the supreme place of Chris¬ 
tian Evangelism in the program of organized Chris¬ 
tianity is a confession of a nebulous idea about the 


20 


Evangelism in the Church 


true nature and purpose of the Christian Church. 
Fundamentally, that purpose is to save souls. Pri¬ 
marily, Evangelism is the method, ordained of Christ. 
Urgently we must do this work. For when enough 
souls are saved, society will be saved. Here, in this 
home missionary work, is a ripe field for those who 
say “I do not believe in foreign missions,” as well as 
for all others who love our Lord Jesus Christ. 

4. “Saved” or “Lost” 

Further importance attaches to this work when 
we consider the meaning of certain words which were 
used by our Lord to describe the condition of those 
who did or did not become His disciples. 

The words, “saved” and “salvation” often fell from 
His lips. But now they are looked upon with vary¬ 
ing degrees of unconcern, if not derision, by many 
persons in our times. This may be either because they 
are deemed to belong to a by-gone age, or because 
of erroneous and silly ideas which have been at¬ 
tached to them. What do these words mean? 

(a) To be “saved,” in any sense, means “to 
be made safe.” As applied to the human soul, 
that means, “safe” from the pollution, the power 
and the penalty of sin. And it includes our life 
in this world, as well as that in the world to 
come. 

(b) Salvation means “the act or process of 
making safe.” In the New Testament, the newly 
baptized believers in Christ are described as 
“such as were being saved,”—a process, not a 
completed act. 


Evangelism in the Parish Program 21 

Our Church describes it in her Catechism as 
“a state of salvation, through Jesus Christ,” and 
teaches her children to “thank our heavenly 
Father” for calling us into it. 

(c) Salvation thus implies both an induction 
into (in the case of children) and a restoration 
to (in the case of adults) a normal state of 
spiritual health through the use of certain 
“means of grace.” Hence we are taught that 
there are “things which a Christian ought to 
know and believe for his soul’s health.” 

Now the opposite of being “saved” is, as Christ 
said, to be “lost,” or to “perish.” These alternatives 
are so terrible, wholly apart from any idea of “hell,” 
or even of a future world, as to be avoided at any 
cost. A child, lost in a city! A man lost in the 
mountains! Who does not shrink from the thought? 
Who would not do what he could to help “save” such 
an one? The thought of extending this loss into a 
future life only adds urgency to the need for present 
action to help save the possibly lost. 


Chapter V 


THE BASIS FOR EVANGELISM 

“And ye also shall bear witness , because ye 

have been zvith me.” St. John 15: 27. 

“Because ye have been with me!” That is the 
spiritual origin and reason for all spontaneous Chris¬ 
tian service. 

1. The Joy of Discipleship 

How easy and joyous a thing it is to speak of 
one whom we love! We like to tell of his or her good 
qualities, fine attainments, and kindly deeds, whenever 
occasion permits. 

We do not look upon that as a wearisome task, 
a duty to be performed, or an act for which we ex¬ 
pect rewards. It is just the natural outpouring of 
our heart’s love. Sometimes it is even an irrepres¬ 
sible thing. 

It was so in the case of the early disciples of Christ. 
Those seeming weaklings, all of whom once forsook 
Him, in cowardly terror, later witnessed for Him, 
boldly, before multitudes. Why this change? An 
enlightened love now filled their hearts. 

Those timid ones, who once fled in fear to hide 
behind closed doors, later witnessed for Christ, 
openly. Why this difference? Their hearts now 
burned with love for Him. 

Kings’ threats could not silence them. Ecclesiasti¬ 
cal courts had no terrors for them. Even violence 
[ 22 ] 


The Basis for Evangelism 


23 


and prison and pain did not deter them. Indeed they 
only replied, “We cannot but speak the things which 
we have seen and heard.” They even “rejoiced that 
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His 
name”; and “They ceased not to teach and to preach 
Jesus Christ.” Why? Chiefly because they loved 
Him. It is only when love grows cold that its lan¬ 
guage becomes irksome, or fails of expression. 

Now it is exactly this natural witnessing for Christ 
that is involved in our own discipleship. Christ’s 
love for us has been so great; He has both promised 
and done so much for us; His personal relations with 
us are, potentially, so wonderful; there are so many 
things for us to tell others about Him, and it would 
so greatly enrich their lives to know them, that there 
just does not seem to be any excuse for us if we do 
not bear loving witness unto Him. That is, there 
is no excuse for us if we have been with Him. If 
we have a personal experience of sins forgiven, of 
grace conferred, of strength and coipfort received, of 
the indwelling presence of Christ in our hearts; if 
our religion is something more vital than a merely 
conventional adherence to an ecclesiastical system; 
then we too, as the early disciples, “cannot but speak 
the things” which we have felt and known, because 
we have thus been with Him. 

And if we have not yet had these personal expe¬ 
riences in the love and power of Christ, it is our 
blessed privilege and urgent need to seek until we 
find them. 

To witness thus for Christ is the thing—one of the 
very few things—which our Lord specifically asked 
His disciples to do. And He asks it of us in order 


24 


Evangelism in the Church 


that, through us, He may bless others who may not 
otherwise obtain this intimate knowledge of Him. 
Incidentally, too, He increases our blessings in pro¬ 
portion as we thus co-operate with Him. 

What would you think if, when you were in need 
of credentials, your supposed friends should fail or 
refuse to give the required testimony? And what 
would the neighbors think? That kind of friendship 
would not receive a very high rating on any basis 
of valuation. Would it? 

2. What Is a Witness? 

This brings us face to face with an important 
question, “What is a witness?” A witness is one 
who tells what he knows in a given case, at a time 
when his testimony will best serve that case. But he 
must speak from personal knowledge. Hearsay evi¬ 
dence is neither admissible nor effective. 

A Christian witness, then, is one who gives his 
testimony of things which he has seen or experienced, 
when and where it will do most to advance the Cause 
to which Christ has called us. Our Lord asks us 
to be witnesses for Him because humanity, which He 
died to save, needs to know about Him. This is the 
only way in which multitudes of non-Church people 
will ever hear the Gospel; and it is the natural thing 
for us who have received benefits from Him, and are 
supposed to love Him, to do for Him and for Others. 

Where are we to witness for Christ? Jesus said, 
“Beginning at Jerusalem” .... and extending to 
“the uttermost parts of the earth.” That is, person¬ 
ally in our own home town, as well as by proxy in 
foreign fields. And since the effectiveness of Chris- 


The Basis for Evangelism 


25 


tianity at home very largely determines its influence 
abroad, it is timely to suggest that an intensive spir¬ 
itual movement be started by Christians in America. 

3. Four Great Questions 

Such a movement must, of course, start with 
the individual disciple of Christ, and it will need to 
be based upon certain definite convictions, which for 
clearness we put into the form of questions: 

(a) Do you believe that sin is real, and that 
it is spiritually fatal? 

(b) Do you believe that the impenitent sin¬ 
ner is in any vital sense “lost” or that he may 
“perish” ? 

(c) Do you believe that man needs, and that 
God has provided, a divine remedy for sin? 

(d) Do you believe that any responsibility 
for the salvation of others rests upon us as 
Christians ? 

Our Lord constantly taught the first three of these 
things, and specifically enjoined the fourth upon 
those, His disciples, who professed to love Him. He 
not only says, “Come unto me” as disciples and be 
saved, but He also says, “Go” disciple others that 
they too may be saved. The two words “Come” and 
“Go” have equal force in our lives, or neither of them 
has any. And this is equal to saying that, if Christ 
has no claim on us for service , we can have no claim 
on Him for grace. 

If you believe these important things, this book has 
a helpful message for you. If you do not, as yet, 
believe them, perhaps this book may incline you to 


26 


Evangelism in the Church 


reconsider the articles of your unbelief, and thus 
lead you to a blessing. 

In any case you may wonder why every one who 
believes them is not more active about the matter. 
Why, for example, does not the modern pulpit speak 
of them more often and definitely? And why does 
not the modern pewholder do more to bring them to 
the attention of his friends and neighbors. To 
bear such personal witness for Christ is Christian 
Evangelism. 


Chapter VI 


PERSONAL EVANGELISM 

“Let him know , that he which converteth the 
sinner from the error of his way , shall save a 
sovl from death.” St. James 5: 20. 

Has a layman anything to do with Evangelism? 
Certainly; for by it he may save a soul from death. 
Can a man be a Christian and not wish to do that? 

Has a layman any responsibility in connection with 
Evangelism, as a vital part of his parochial life? 
Certainly. It is the work of the Church to save souls. 
A layman is the vital human unit of the Church. 
Every layman is therefore responsible for his share 
of the whole work of the Church, including Evan¬ 
gelism. 

Evangelism—telling others the good news of sins 
forgiven through the great love of God; telling others 
the good news of a personal experience with the in¬ 
dwelling Christ; telling others the good news of the 
directing power of the Holy Spirit in the daily life-— 
this is the inherent right and duty of every baptized 
member of Christ. And if one has not had these per¬ 
sonal experiences himself, so that he can tell others, 
there is urgent need for conversion in his own life. 

1. The Place and Power of Personality 

Lay Evangelism, or “Personal Work” as it has 
been called, is clearly a New Testament method of 
extending the Kingdom of Christ among men. 

[ 27 ] 


28 


Evangelism in the Church 


Christ said to prospective disciples, “I will make 
you fishers of men.” Speaking to a commercial age 
He might say, “I will make you salesmen for the 
Kingdom.” 

Personal Evangelism is the introduction of the 
human element into the work of soui-winning. And 
that makes it an even greater possible means of con¬ 
version than the evangelistic message from the pulpit. 

Probably most of the clergy would find, upon mak¬ 
ing an analysis of their adult confirmation candidates, 
that the majority of them became gommunicants as 
a result of their own personal interviews, or those of 
laymen, instead of as the fruit of public preaching. 
Results in the Nation-Wide Campaign have given 
evidence of this. 

It is illuminating to discover that our Lord Him¬ 
self seems to have made more actual and effective con¬ 
verts through His personal interviews with people 
about religion, than resulted from even His wonderful 
preaching. 

The emphasis of the apostolic age seems to have 
been upon personal testimony on the part of all be¬ 
lievers. But, since our Lord ordained both private 
and public methods of Evangelism, we must seek to 
keep them in true relations with each other. Neither 
is, or may be, exclusive of the other. 

2. The Starting Point 

Before any Christian, clerical or lay, can do effec¬ 
tive evangelistic work, three things are necessary. 

(a) One should have a deep conviction that: 

Sin is real and spiritually fatal. A sinner is, in 


Personal Evangelism 


29 


a very real sense, “lost.” Man needs, and there 
is, a divine femedy for sin. 

(b) One must have a social concept of his re¬ 
ligion, such as will lead him to : 

Acknowledge his own personal relation to 
another’s spiritual need. The “Laissez-faire” 
doctrine is wholly un-Christian. 

Accept personal responsibility in connection 
with meeting the spiritual need of others. To 
refuse to do so is but to repeat the ancient heresy 
of Cain, expressed in the words, “Am I my 
brother’s keeper?” 

Prepare to undertake personal work, i. e., 
“lay Evangelism.” The apostolic injunction is, 
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” 

(c) One must, of course, have a religious ex- 
* perience, such as will enable one to speak from 

personal knowledge of the love and power of 
Christ. With St. Paul we should be able to say, 
“I know whom I have believed, and am per¬ 
suaded that He is able to keep that which I 
have committed unto Him against that day.” 

It is a promise of a better day in the Church and 
in the world to find that there are groups of people 
in some parishes who are already organized for study 
and work along these lines. May their number rap¬ 
idly and greatly increase. 

3. The Prayer Book and Evangelism 

Many avewedly Christian persons seem to be 
spiritually inarticulate. With some this may be due 
to a natural reticence; with others it may be an ab- 


30 


Evangelism in the Church 


sence of a vital religious experience; to some it may 
seem contrary to the customs of their ecclesiastical 
Fathers; to others, an unseemly innovation. 

To all such it may with truth be said that, whether 
contrary to the smug customs of a conventional eccle- 
siasticism or to any other cause, personal Evangelism 
is nevertheless the will of Christ, according to the 
practice of the apostolic Fathers, and wholly con¬ 
formable to our supreme guide in religious customs, 
the Book of Common Prayer. Observe: 

(a) In the Preface to the Prayer Book, we 
are admonished to “consider seriously what 
Christianity is, what the truths of the Gospel 
are .... earnestly beseeching Almighty God 
to accompany with His blessing every endeavor 
for promulgating them to mankind.” 

This “promulgating” Christianity certainly 
is Evangelism; “every endeavor” must certainly 
include personal work as well as corporate 
parochial and diocesan effort; “seriously con¬ 
sidering what Christianity is” looks like prepara¬ 
tion to do this work; and “earnestly beseeching 
God” shows the spirit in which we should pro¬ 
ceed with it. 

(b) Coming to the more personal Offices of 
the Prayer Book, we find several very practical 
lines of lay Evangelism most emphatically en¬ 
joined. For example: 

(i) Page 251. Rubric concerning Baptism. 

Here we read the specific injunction that, 
“The Minister of every Parish shall often ad- 


Personal Evangelism 


31 


monish the People, that they defer not the Bap¬ 
tism of their Children.” 

Religion like charity, is thus supposed to be¬ 
gin at home. What is more reasonable and 
natural than to assume that parents who are 
“members of Christ’s flock” would be sufficiently 
interested in the spiritual welfare of their own 
children to want them also to be made “mem¬ 
bers of Christ, the children of God and inher¬ 
itors of the kingdom of heaven?” 

And yet, in many professedly Christian homes, 
even this simple bit of personal Evangelism, by 
which a child is brought “into this state of sal¬ 
vation,” is neglected. Now this neglect exists, 
not because Evangelism is contrary to the cus¬ 
tom of the Fathers, but in actual violation of 
the historic rule of the Church. 

(ii) Page 250, 251. Exhortation to parents 
and sponsors. 

When the first act of lay Evangelism has been 
performed, the Church imposes a second: “It 
is your part and duty to see that this child be 
taught .... all things which a Christian 
ought to know and believe to his soul’s 
health.” 

Here five persons, two parents and three spon¬ 
sors, are definitely charged with a most im¬ 
portant phase of lay Evangelism, covering defi¬ 
nite work and prayer during a number of years. 
And yet, too often, it is left undone—again not 
because such work is a modern and unchurchly 
innovation by fanatics, but as an actual and un¬ 
churchly innovation in itself. 


32 


Evangelism in the Church 


(iii) Page 251. Second exhortation. 

Finally, these same persons are charged to 
bring their work to a certain point of progress: 
“Ye are to take care that this Child be brought 
to the Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon 
as” the above prescribed preparation is made. 

And yet, avowedly Christian parents and 
sponsors shirk this natural responsibility for the 
saving of a soul-beloved by saying, “Let him 
choose for himself.” They do this, not because 
the latter is the correct churchly method of pro¬ 
cedure, but in open violation of all churchly 
precedent to the contrary. 

4. A Question of Methods 

Just at this point there arises a question as to the 
method by which parents can best fulfil these spir¬ 
itual obligations to their children. The spacial limits 
of this book preclude a detailed discussion of this 
problem. However, a few quite obvious, even if too 
generally neglected, things may perhaps be suggested. 
The following, among other, practical things are pos¬ 
sible for all: 

Long before the child is taken (not sent) to 
Church School, the religious emphasis should begin in 
the home with: 

(a) Little child-songs, bearing a religious 
message. 

(b) Brief bedtime Bible stories. No others 
are so good or interesting for children. 

(c) Simple prayers, perchance even to be 
lisped; for “Prayer is the simplest form of 
speech that infant lips can try.” 


Personal Evangelism 


33 


Psychologists tell us that no other time is so good 
for implanting constructive suggestions in a child’s 
nature as when the mother is snuggling it to bed. 

After children start upon their course of Church 
School instruction, parents have further opportunity 
for simple but vital family Evangelism. They 
should. 


(a) See to it that attendance at the sessions 
of the School is regular and prompt. 

(b) Insist upon, and help at home in, the 
preparation of the next lesson. 

(c) Show interest in the religious work of the 
child in the Church School, by frequent visits to 
it. 

Then, when confirmation age comes, children can 
easily be led to “choose for themselves” to assume the 
baptismal vows. 

At all times Christian parents can do much 
towards developing the spiritual life of their children 
by doing such other natural things as these: 

(a) Have “Grace” at meals; and at least 
some brief form of family devotions, daily. 

(b) Practice regular habits of Church attend¬ 
ance and worship. Example is a far better 
teacher than is mere precept. 

(c) Create a religious atmosphere in the 
home. This does not mean stilted piety or sanc¬ 
timonious prattle. It does mean that we shall 
make religion as natural a topic of conversation 
as the weather, and as important as life itself. 


34 


Evangelism in the Church 


The daily conversation and comradeship in the 
home on all subjects, including religion, are 
vital forces in the fulfilment of the obligations 
of parental Evangelism with their children. 

Our National Department of Religious Edu¬ 
cation can furnish helpful material for this 
work. And the local clergy will always be glad 
to assist in it, as opportunity is presented to 
them. 

Here then, in the circle of the family, is the place 
to start lay Evangelism. And this, according to the 
Scriptures and the calm, sane judgment of the his¬ 
toric Church. 

5. The Larger Circle 

Passing beyond the inner circle, where the natural 
love of the parents and friends of youth, as well as 
the established order of the Church presupposes that 
Churchmen will engage in lay Evangelism, we come to 
a broader phase of it, namely, effort on the part of 
adult friend with friend to bring souls to Christ. 
Here we have a warrant of even wider scope than the 
Prayer Book for lay Evangelism, namely, the New 
Testament. 

Andrew bringing his brother Peter, and Philip 
bringing his friend Nathanael, are well-known ex¬ 
amples of this perfectly natural kind of personal 
Evangelism in which, again, loving solicitude for the 
spiritual welfare of those who are nearest to us 
should be a sufficient motive for action on our part. 

Beyond* this lies a still broader field for personal 
Evangelism, also “white for the harvest,” namely, 
the larger circle of acquaintances who, in some spe- 


Personal Evangelism 


35 


cific way, share our common life; and whose welfare, 
in every other respect than religion, is a natural 
point of concern for us. 

Attention is called to the Rubric on page 272, of 
the Book of Common Prayer, where, at the close of 
the Catechism, the Church lays upon the consciences 
of heads of families and other employers, the duty 
of definite action in relation to the spiritual welfare 
of their employees: “And all Fathers and Mothers, 
Masters and Mistresses shall cause their .... 
Servants and Apprentices, who have not learned 
their Catechism, to come to the Church at the time 
appointed, and obediently to hear .... until 
such time as they have learned, all that is here ap¬ 
pointed for them to learn.” 

Granted that our modern industrial system no 
longer makes it possible for employers to observe the 
letter of this rule of the Church; the fact remains 
that our Church contemplates such an exercise of 
personal interest and effort on the part of employers 
as will bring to each employee a knowledge of things 
which are necessary “to his soul’s health.” 

Here is indisputable evidence that the Church ex¬ 
pects her members to engage in personal, lay Evan¬ 
gelism in some specific form. And this obligation 
cannot be met by the mere contribution to a parish 
church to which employees may come, if they want 
to do so. The rule of the Church is that employers 
“shall cause ” something to be done that will definitely 
give a knowledge of Gospel truth to their employees.* 

*Note: A consciousness of this responsibility, on the part of 
some employers, is disclosed by the action of one of the larg¬ 
est Life Insurance Companies in the world in conducting 
Lenten noonday services for its employees. 



36 


Evangelism in the Church 


This law is meant to be coercive upon the employer, 
as to the principle involved, even if one cannot en¬ 
force the detail of method upon one’s employees. 

The New Testament gives us a closely related 
example in which, however, the circle of influence is 
extended to include our fellow-townsmen. After the 
woman of Samaria had had her experience with the 
Christ, she hastened to tell it to the people of her 
village. Then she asked them to “Come and see” for 
themselves. This case is especially typical of the 
naturalness of personal Evangelism, and also of its 
beneficent results. The significant point of this 
incident is that at first the people “believed on Him 
for the saying of the woman,” then we read that they 
“believed .... for we have heard Him ourselves, 
and know that this is indeed .... the Saviour of 
the world.” 

That word “Saviour” has striking force. When 
Dr. Lorenz came to America, persons who had friends 
needing his special skill carried the news to them, and 
helped to bring the invalids to that great surgeon. 
It was a modern repetition, in kind, of the New Tes¬ 
tament cases where “They (the friends) brought him 
(the invalid) to Jesus.” Why? Both these sets of 
friends acted on behalf of the sick persons that he 
might be “saved” from his pain, weakness or other 
personal impediment. 

There is far greater reason why we should do ex¬ 
actly this kind of work for our friends and acquaint¬ 
ances who need the Great Physician to heal their souls 
and bodies by saving them from the impediments of 
sin. That is lay Evangelism—natural, simple, urgent. 


Personal Evangelism 


37 


6. Why Discriminate? 

Why do we discriminate so unfairly against the 
soul? For example: There is a “healing mission” in 
a certain parish. Crowds come. Everybody who has 
friends invalided in any way tries to bring them to the 
mission. Then theye is another, a spiritual mission, 
in the same parish. There are no crowds. Church 
members do not equally exert themselves to bring 
people who are not Church members to the mission. 
Why is this? Is the body really of greater value than 
the soul? Is there really some good reason why we 
should speak to others more freely about their bodily 
ailments than about the needs of their souls? Or is 
this an artificial discrimination, devised of Satan to 
prevent the salvation of souls? 

The layman does not do the saving. Christ does 
that. Man merely does the bringing of men to Him. 

If one feels, however, that he cannot talk religion 
effectively with another, he can do several other 
things that may help a soul: 

(a) He can pray for another’s salvation. 

(b) He can invite and bring to the Church— 
call it Christ’s spiritual hospital, or school, or 
workshop, if you wish. 

(c) He can introduce him to the pastor, and 
make it thus possible for him to present Christ 
sis a personal Saviour, and to give further in¬ 
struction in the way of the soul’s life; for there 
are cases in which only the experience and 
agencies which a priest has, for dealing with 
souls, will Suffice to meet the need. 


38 


Evangelism in the Church 


7. Natural Evangelism 

Winning men for Christ is as natural and easy 
as the inviting of your friend to join your favorite 
club or to come to see you. 

The difficulty is all in the mental attitude which we 
have become accustomed to hold towards this kind of 
religious effort. We have been too prone to keep our 
religion to ourselves, on the theory that any other 
course would seem like meddling with other people’s 
business. We forget that we would do even that, if 
we discovered that a neighbor or a friend were in 
danger of his life or property! Why discriminate 
against the soul, and be silent? 

The doing of this kind of personal religious work is 
all a question of making a right use of opportunity 
and relationship. One does not have to go out of his 
way to make an opportunity; for so many of them 
come to us in a day’s experience that it would keep 
us quite busy simply to seize them all. Observe how 
naturally our Lord did this work: 

Jesus saw two disciples of John the Baptist follow¬ 
ing Him, and He turned and said quite naturally, 
“What seek ye?” They answered “Master, where 
dwellest thou?” Then, instead of merely giving them 
the street and number of His house, as cold informa¬ 
tion, He did the warmer, more friendly thing, by say¬ 
ing to them, “Come and see.” They responded in the 
natural way, and so we read that “They ckme, and 
saw, and abode with Him.” 

Here was no use of exciting methods, or of artificial 
stimulation of the emotions. Just naturalness, human 
interest, sympathy, and genuineness. 


Personal Evangelism 39 

Again, we can take the case of two of His disciples, 
and find the same natural methods: “Andrew findeth 
his own brother, and saith, ‘We have found the Mes¬ 
siah which is called the Christ,’ and he brought him to 
Jesus.” Or again, “Philip findeth Nathanael (his 
friend) and saith unto him, ‘We have found Him of 
whom Moses did write, Jesus of Nazareth.’ ” And 
when Nathanael answered with a skeptical question, 
Philip replied “Come and see” for yourself. 

What could be more natural? Here was no arti¬ 
ficially stimulated emotion; no undue pressure; no 
strained effort at the thing called “tact.” Just 
humanness. That is all. 

None of this is more difficult than it would be for 
you to say to a friend, whom you wished to secure as 
a member of your club, “Come with me to the club” 
(for lunch or for some program). It is all a question 
of personal interest in two things, namely, the club 
which you want to boost, and the friend whom you 
wish to benefit. And a similar interest in your 
Church, and in your friends, on the spiritual side, 
will make this kind of Evangelism just as easy, and 
a far greater joy to you both. 

8. America Can Be Saved, If 

Think what it would mean, for America, if every 
one of the approximately fifty million nominal Chris¬ 
tians in it should win only one additional soul for 
Christ during this year. It would mean that America 
would be made Christian in about twelve months. 

We must admit the improbability that this will be 
done. But why not? Let every one answer for him¬ 
self. It would only require that every baptized disci- 


40 


Evangelism in the Church 


pie of Jesus Christ should take his religion seriously 
enough to do just this little bit of definite work in lay 
Evangelism. 

It is because every one is not doing even this much 
of aggressive work for the extension of Christ’s king¬ 
dom, that it becomes necessary to add the more cor¬ 
porate and organized phase of Evangelism to the pro¬ 
gram of our parishes; and to engage in repeated and 
more public campaigns. 

Here, in these latter, even the most timid and self- 
deprecating can find some real thing to do that will 
help to “Convert the sinner from the error of his way, 
and to save a soul from death.” I know of a promi¬ 
nent business man who led forty men to Christ last 
year. Happy man! 

The immediately urgent thing now is to catch a 
vision of the Church really engaged in the Christ-or¬ 
dained work of soul-winning; and to dedicate one’s 
self to the purpose of co-operation in that program. 


Chapter VII 


QUALIFICATION FOR SERVICE 

“Study to show thyself approved unto God , a 
workman that needeth not to he ashamed .” II 
Timothy 2:15. 

There are certain qualifications, both natural and 
acquired, which increase efficiency in bearing witness 
for Christ. 

1. Personal Qualities 

Granted the desire to do such work in and through 
the Church, here are a few personal elements of suc¬ 
cess which are essential: 

(a) A reasonably consistent personal life. 
That is the greatest human asset and power. It 
is one effective phase of personal Evangelism, 
which all Christians should practice. 

The divine “Word .... made flesh” in our 
personal lives outweighs the spoken words of our 
lips as an influence in winning souls for Christ. 

This does not mean that a personal worker 
must be sanctimonious in order to be successful. 
It does mean that he shall be sincere. No one is 
perfect. 

Even a sinner can help to lead other sinners 
to Christ. St. Paul called himself “the chief of 
sinners”; yet he “turned many to righteous¬ 
ness.” 


[ 41 ] 


42 


Evangelism in the Church 


(b) Tact is a good thing to use, if one has 
that natural gift. But even deficiency here can 
be overcome. St. James wrote that, “If any of 
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth 
to all men liberally, .... and it shall be given 
him.” St. James 1: 5. 

(c) Faith in God, faith in yourself, and faith 
in your fellowmen, will increase your courage to 
“speak boldly as you ought to speak,” in the 
work of soul-winning. 

If you believe that Christ is “able to save 
them to the uttermost that come unto God by 
Him”; that His grace is sufficient for you; and 
that your friends really want to be better than 
they are, then your seeming task becomes joyful 
opportunity. 

2. Divine Co-operation 

But there is another thing, a something which 
lies beyond the natural scope and power of even the 
most skilled and experienced Christian worker. And 
that is the double work which the Holy Spirit does, 
both in guiding the worker and by influencing the 
soul which you may be trying to win. 

Jesus said to His disciples, “And ye shall receive 
power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” 
Then followed the commission, “And ye shall be wit¬ 
nesses unto me.” 

(a) First there is to be the enduement with 
the Holy Spirit, the divine dynamic; then the 
going forth under His guidance to witness and 
to win men for Christ. Thus, otherwise timid 


Qualification for Service 


43 


and unskilled persons may accomplish great re¬ 
sults for God, now as in the apostolic age. 

The following is only a suggestion as to the 
place of the Holy Spirit in this important work. 
In order to avail one’s self of His promised guid¬ 
ance one must try to yield one’s life to Him. 
Then, by this willingness to follow, one may per¬ 
ceive His guidance as to: 

When to speak to another about his soul. To 
secure the opportune time is important. 

How to secure the right point of contact. A 
knowledge of psychology alone is not sufficient. 

What to say, i. e., “the word in season,” so as 
to be effective. This may seem difficult, as an 
attainment, but it is not so hard as it looks. 

(b) It should be remembered, also, that the 
Holy Spirit has something to do with the soul we 
may be seeking to win: 

It is distinctly the function of the Holy Spirit 
to “Reprove (convict) of sin, of righteousness, 
and of the judgment.” It was by His influence 
that, on the Day of Pentecost, “men were 
pricked at the heart, and said, ‘What shall we 
do ?’ ” St. Peter was the human agent turning 
men’s thoughts Godward, the Holy Spirit both 
guiding him and moving them. 

3. Sacramental Agencies 

But something more than conviction of sin is 
necessary for the salvation of a soul. Conviction 
merely leads to a vivid sense of the need of a Saviour. 
After the will to act has been aroused, there follows 


44 Evangelism in the Church 

another thing which only the Holy Spirit can accom¬ 
plish, namely, regeneration. Jesus said “Except a 
man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 
into the Kingdom of God.” And St. Paul says, “The 
Spirit is life.” Rom. 8:10-15. And so we Church¬ 
men say in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit is 
“the Lord, and giver of life.” 

It is on this ground that historic Christendom has 
always insisted upon Baptism according to the com¬ 
mand and formula of Christ. But beyond this lies 
a something else of which St. Paul speaks on this 
wise: “After that ye believed, ye were sealed by the 
Holy Spirit of promise”; and he adds, “Grieve not 
the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were sealed unto 
the day of redemption.” 

All through the Book of Acts and the Epistles we 
read also of “the gift of the Holy Spirit,” almost 
always connected with “the laying on of hands” by 
the Apostles, with prayer. Historic Christendom 
has always understood this to mean the apostolic rite 
of Confirmation, which is so clearly shown in the case 
of the Samaritans who had been converted and bap¬ 
tized by the deacon-evangelist Philip. 

Following these initial gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
would come the nourishing of the spiritual life 
through Christ’s own appointed means of grace, the 
sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. 

We cannot now discuss the question of the non- 
sacramental work of the Holy Spirit. We are merely 
presenting the regular channels of grace through 
which the Holy Spirit has been promised. What 
God can and doubtless does do otherwise is beyond 


Qualification for Service 


45 


the province of man to declare as a dependable means 
of grace or salvation. 

4. Preparation for Service 

The hard work of soul -saving is done by Christ, 
through the operations of the Holy Spirit, in co¬ 
operation with human effort. All that you and I are 
asked to do, or can do, is to be “witnesses unto 
Christ”; to bring men under the direct influence of 
the Holy Spirit acting through the Christ-ordained 
sacramental channels of His Church. 

We should remember, however, that it was not 
enough to bring souls merely to penitence; because 
penitence and a resolution to become a Christian are 
not equivalent to actually becoming one. They are 
only the necessary first steps towards that goal. To 
stop there, is to bring souls only to that place of 
which Christ said, “Thou art not far from the King¬ 
dom.” True Evangelism brings souls into the King¬ 
dom, in Christ’s appointed way. And this involves, 
on the part of the personal worker, the effort to 
bring souls to Holy Baptism and Confirmation. 

To deal thus definitely with souls requires an 
increasing knowledge of the New Testament, such as 
can be acquired only by special study and prayer. 
But to do that is the regular privilege and duty of 
all Christians. In Chapter IV of Part Two some 
suggestions are offered for personal and group train¬ 
ing along this line; and in Appendix II a few help¬ 
ful books are also named. Also, one’s own religious 
life will be enriched, and his usefulness increased, by 
a generous study of the Church—her faith, practice 
and methods. 


46 


Evangelism in the Church 


Something needs now to be said and done in con¬ 
nection with the preparation of the Church as such, 
to qualify her for more aggressive Evangelism. 
Granted the American need for this spiritual work, 
we find that the Churches in general are almost as 
unprepared to meet that need as our Government was 
unprepared for entry into the late world-war. 

In this respect our own Church has partially lacked 
the vision both of the need, and of her duty in rela¬ 
tion to it. Also she has held aloof from this work 
because of abuses connected with it in recent years. 

The Church has, indeed, “kept the faith”—a vital 
service for humanity in an era of wide-spread doc¬ 
trinal disintegration. But it has been the service of 
a safety deposit box rather than of a distributing 
agency. Both are necessary for the extension of the 
Kingdom of Christ in the hearts of men. But to this 
end the Church must be not only static but also 
dynamic. 

All the Churches seem to have fallen victims, some¬ 
what, to their environment. The commercial, social 
and political slogan of the day is to “Give the people 
what they want"; whereas the Church’s commission 
from Christ is to give them what they need . 

The messages from the pulpits, however eloquent 
and elegant, seem to show a lack of concern for two 
classes of people—the non-Christian in the world, 
and the un-Christian in the Church. Too often the 
sermons seem to partake more of the nature of a 
lullaby than a battle cry. They are sedative rather 
than spiritually stimulating. They rarely lead per¬ 
sons in the congregation to ask, “Sir, what must I do 
to be saved?” 


Qualification for Service 


47 


5. What Is the Matter? 

We have the most wonderfully militant hymns, such 
as “Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war,” 
which are sung with great gusto. But the spiritual 
movement of the laity more nearly resembles an army 
at dress parade. 

Perhaps this explains, in part, the dearth both in 
the number and high quality of candidates for the 
ministry. The laity is the only source from which 
the ministry can be recruited! There is no ministerial 
tribe, as in the Old Testament era. 

The shallow, but current, idea of the ministry now¬ 
adays seems to be that it is something of a gentle¬ 
man’s sinecure; and that it involves the mere coddling 
of smug hypocrites, or the cuddling of spiritual 
anaemics. Laymen who hold such views forget, of 
course, that in stating them they pay a poor compli¬ 
ment to those members of their own class who have 
chosen the ministry as a life-work, and to the con¬ 
gregations to whom they are to minister. And we 
must all admit that there is here no great challenge 
for self-sacrifice to which a rugged young manhood 
should respond. 

In so far as this view of the ministry may be true 
in isolated cases, it is of course fit only for intellec¬ 
tual dilitantes, social parasites and spiritual paupers. 
Are the laity ready to accept this as a fair state¬ 
ment of their own condition? They must do so un¬ 
less they are willing to admit that their charge 
against the ministry is slanderous. 

Thank God that there are many notable excep¬ 
tions to the foregoing. To them, clerical and lay, 


48 Evangelism in the Church 

belongs the human credit for the continuance of the 
Church in our day. 

When Christians firmly believe and act on the 
theory that sin is fatal and the sinner lost; that re¬ 
pentance is urgent and divine pardon brings peace; 
then the challenge to sacrifice will reappear, and 
virile young men will respond to the call of the 
ministry. 

To produce this condition is one of the objects 
and effects of Evangelism. 

0. The Dawning of a Better Day 

On every hand are abundant evidences that we 
are entering upon a new era in Church life—one in 
which the readjustment of things spiritual is taking 
precedence over material activities. We are seeing 
that in order to “Christianize the social order”—we 
must first spiritualize the Christian order. 

This will be no easy task, nor one which can be 
done in a day; for it is not revolution but reforma¬ 
tion that is needed. 

The so-called “reconstruction of creeds” and the 
“unshackling of the mind” are not important phases 
of this reformation. In the Episcopal Church, minds 
are not seriously shackled by creeds. And in 
America at large there has already been too much 
reconstruction of the Christian Faith, resulting in 
about 200 different denominations. What we need 
in this respect is to bring our minds into obedience 
to the will of Christ, and to discard our many indi¬ 
vidualistic opinions in favor of that “form of sound 
words” which enshrines “the faith once delivered un¬ 
to the saints,” and is the Christian creed. 


Qualification for Service 


49 


Thinking people in all of the religious bodies seem 
to be taking a religious inventory in which a truer, 
even if depreciated, valuation is being placed upon 
material things as taken by themselves, and increased 
value is attached to the relationship which these sus¬ 
tain to the supreme work of the Church, which is 
spiritual. And the result will be that the Churches 
will presently not only accept the spiritual challenge 
of the times, but will equip and train themselves to 
meet it with an intelligent Christian Evangelism. For 
Evangelism is the only w r ay in which America can 
be saved. For us as Churchmen, it is a foretoken of 
a new era to find that our Church has officially recog¬ 
nized the place of Evangelisiri in the program of 
organized Christianity, and is making provision for 
its development. Observe and duly weigh the steps 
already taken: 

(a) The National Council, which is the high¬ 
est official body empowered to act between Gen¬ 
eral Conventions, has created a Commission on 
Preaching Missions (i. e., Evangelism); has 
elected two of its members as General Missioners; 
and has made initial appropriations of money 
for their work. 

(b) The Commission has produced and dis¬ 
tributed an official Handbook for the clergy to 
aid in preparing them both to conduct missions 
and to make their own parishes ready for such 
evangelistic work when done by another. And 
this present book is a further effort to bring 
Evangelism into its proper place in parochial 
and personal life. 


50 


Evangelism in the Church 


(c) The immediate objects or lines of work 
of this Commission are as follows: 

(i) To hold Clinical Missions and Confer¬ 
ences for the clergy in strategic centers in 
each diocese. 

(ii) To present the subject of Evangelism 
personally to the divinity students in our 
seminaries. 

(iii) To conduct, or provide lectures on 
Evangelism for, Summer Schools for the 
clergy and laity in order to develop a move¬ 
ment to restore Evangelism to its New Testa¬ 
ment place in the program of parishes and in 
the personal life of Christians. 

All of these official steps have been most cordially 
received by our Church people at large. 

We must have no illusions, however, as to the speed 
with which Christian Evangelism will be realized in 
the actual life of American Christianity. And, anj^- 
way, that is not the point. Day does not burst upon 
us, full-orbed out of black night. The dawn inter¬ 
venes. But it gives great promise of better things to 
come in the life of our beloved Church, to find that 
she has official eyes to see the vision of her opportu¬ 
nity and duty; and that she has spiritual initiative 
and power enough to begin the actual work of Evan¬ 
gelism in this new day of increased spiritual oppor¬ 
tunity in America. 


Chapter VIII 


THE MARVELOUS AGENCIES WHICH THE 
CHURCH PROVIDES, TO HELP US WIN 
SOULS FOR CHRIST 

“When he ascended up on high , he gave gifts 
unto men” Ephesians 4:8. 

Here is a field in which the Churchman, as we un¬ 
derstand the term, is in a position of unique advan¬ 
tage and strength. The solemn thought about this 
is that “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall 
much be required.” If there is any place for boast¬ 
ing in the Christian life, it is certainly not in the 
possession of this heritage but in the use we make 
of it. And here, because of our neglect, we must be 
very humble. 

I wonder if we appreciate our rich heritage in 
things spiritual; or how we could enrich the lives 
of others if we made a right use of these gifts? Con¬ 
sider the working value of the treasures which, under 
God’s mercy, are ours: 

1. By Christ’s Own Appointment 

(a) The Church herself. We are members 
of a Church with an apostolic origin, assuring 
us that in her form of organization we have the 
kind of spiritual home that Christ Himself 
founded for the nurture, protection, and as a 
field of service for His disciples in all ages. 

[ 51 ] 


Evangelism in the Church 

It should be a joy to offer such an heritage to 
souls who seek to know Christ. And if we under¬ 
stood the force and meaning of this fact in rela¬ 
tion to the religious life of the times, it would 
make the winning of men for Christ in His 
Church a relatively easy matter. 

(b) A Ministry, whose apostolic origin as¬ 
sures us that, in her official acts, the Church 
offers her ministrations in the way, and upon the 
authority, which Christ Himself ordained. 

What confidence it gives to receive the knowl¬ 
edge and sacramental grace of the way of eter¬ 
nal life, from such a source! 

Even those who look lightly upon the apos¬ 
tolic succession will have to admit that it is an 
asset and not a liability. And, if we are wise, 
we shall use that asset with thanksgiving to God, 
and for the salvation of men; for that is why 
He gave this good “gift unto men.” St. Paul’s 
own comment on this passage is that it is “for 
the perfecting of saints, for the work of the 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; 
till we all come .... unto the measure of the 
fullness of the stature of Christ.” 

(c) The historic Christian Faith, as enshrined 
in the New Testament and epitomized in the 
Apostles’ Creed, assuring us that, in her basic 
teaching, the Church gives us that “form of 
sound words” which contains the truth of the 
Gospel, “once for all delivered unto the saints” 
by our Lord himself, as a foundation upon which 
to build faith in Him, now, and hope for life in 
the world to come. 


Marvelous Agencies Church Provides 53 


How it steadies one amid the chaos of opin¬ 
ions and “the changes and chances of this mor¬ 
tal life,” to have such a basis for faith as “an 
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and 
which entereth into that within the veil, whither 
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.” 

Without an apostolic Church and Ministry, 
we should not have had this great blessing to¬ 
day; for it is the tendency of unguarded truth, 
first to become nebulous, then to evaporate 
entirely. 

If we must choose between the much despised 
“crystalized creed” and a vaporizing faith, by 
all means let us cling to the former which gives 
us the substance out of which to build a vital 
personal experience of God, and to continue 
Christ’s work in the world. 

(d) The Sacraments, “ordained by Christ 
himself, as a means whereby we receive grace 
and a pledge to assure us thereof.” 

These come down to us through Christ’s 
appointed channel, the apostolic Church; are 
administered by His own ordained ministry; and 
they vitalize for us the apostolic faith, by ex¬ 
tending to us today the benefit of the Incarna¬ 
tion and Atonement of Christ which took place 
nineteen hundred years ago. We are thus not 
asked to live on faith, which would be a slim 
spiritual diet, but “by faith” in Christ’s Word 
and living Grace. 

What a sense of satisfaction it should give us to 
be able to bring souls thus directly into spiritual con¬ 
tact with Christ, for new life and cleansing from sin! 


54 Evangelism in the Church 

Note: These are the agencies which our Lord, 
“when He ascended up on high, gave (as good) gifts 
unto men”; and established them as means by which, 
with the enduement of the Holy Spirit, His disciples 
should seek to win souls for Him in all ages of time. 

Close kin to these, but not on the same high level 
of fundamental importance, are four other matters 
which our Church has to offer mankind. They are: 

2. Our Heritage from the Fathers 

(a) The Christian Year, so ordered as to 
bring before us in annual sequence the supreme 
events in the life of our Lord, and the cardinal 
truths of His teaching. 

These are so arranged in fasts and feasts, in 
Holy Days and days of penitence, as to present 
the whole Gospel of Christ vividly. 

Communicants of the Church, and their chil¬ 
dren, are thus trained to think in terms of a 
calendar which centers in “The Sun of Right¬ 
eousness” as well as in one which is governed 
by the physical sun. 

The two worlds, spiritual and natural, in 
which we live here on earth, are thus brought 
together in proper relation in our lives—a great 
boon. 

(b) A Divine Liturgy, and Book of Common 
Prayer, which are Scriptural and conform also 
to correct psychological principles, as a worthy 
means of approach to God in public worship, 
and as an effective method of spiritual ministra¬ 
tion to man in the various natural experiences 
of his life. 


Marvelous Agencies Church Provides 55 


The Christian Church, being a fellowship in 
Christ, looks upon all common needs, common 
duties and common privileges, as things which 
require united action. Hence all acts of com¬ 
mon approach to God are so ordered that the 
whole congregation, and not the minister only, 
is expected to participate. To this end, a com¬ 
mon formula of expression is necessary. Other¬ 
wise silence or chaos must prevail in any Church 
service. 

(c) A Rational Concept of the Bible, the 
Christian Creed, and the universal facts of 
human life. 

No scholastic theory of inspiration, no aca¬ 
demic interpretation of the Christian Faith, and 
no epochal theory of the origin and facts of life, 
are made binding upon the minds of men by the 
Church. 

Whatever may be the need for an unshackling 
of the mind in other quarters, it does not exist 
here; for the minds of Churchmen are not 
shackled. 

If we accept the Bible as the Word of God, 
“containing all things necessary to salvation,” 
we are not bound by theories of inspiration. If 
we unfeignedly believe the Apostles’ Creed as a 
sufficient statement of the Christian Faith, we 
are not oppressed with the bondage of other 
men’s interpretations. And if we hold human 
life as a sacred gift from God for which we are 
responsible, we are free in our search for the 
origin and processes of it. In all these things 
we have full liberty of interpretation as to the 


56 Evangelism in the Church 

“How?” and the “Why?” It is permissible for 
us to accept these according alike to our respec¬ 
tive intellectual and spiritual capacity, and to 
the enlarging facts of an ever-increasing sum of 
scientific knowledge. 

Denial of the basic facts alone exceeds the 
limit of our liberty; for the Church looks upon 
them as foundations upon which the individual 
may build, rather than as limitations beyond 
which he may not go. And she ever encourages 
a religion of maximums and not of minimums; 
for she seeks to help faith come to its fullest 
realization of fruitage and growth. In this she 
follows St. Paul’s injunction, “Him that is weak 
in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful dis¬ 
putations.” Then follows “growth in grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ.” 

(d) A Liberal View of Life and Conduct. 
The Episcopal Church has no legalistic system 
for human action to which her members must 
adhere. 

This, like all liberty, has its dangers, of 
course. But since law in general expresses 
chiefly the minimum below which human action 
may not fall without penalty (because that 
would destroy the social order) ; and because 
law can never perfect character, the Church 
does not go beyond the basic law of God, which 
is eternal, in her relation to the lives of her 
members. 

She remembers that while the “law came by 
Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” 


Marvelous Agencies Church Provides 57 

Moreover, she distinguishes between things 
which are in themselves wrong and things which 
become wrong only by association and abuse. 

Besides, being an historic Church, with an age¬ 
long vision and experience in dealing with souls, 
she does not bind the consciences of men in one 
generation by the detailed moral theories of a 
former period. 

These four vital things—the Christian year, 
the divine liturgy, a rational concept of the 
Bible, and a liberal view of life—are the heritage 
from the Fathers, beginning from the post- 
apostolic age. There is at least one other great 
gift which we might use more than we do in our 
work. And this comes to us Americans from 
our civic forefathers, the Founders of this Re¬ 
public, namely, 

3. A Civic Contribution 

A form of Church Government, for adminis¬ 
trative purposes, which is similar to that of 
our country. 

It was fashioned by some of the same men 
who wrote and put the American Constitution 
into effect—two-thirds of whom were Episco¬ 
palians. And they undoubtedly got their con¬ 
cept and ideal for their civic work from a dis¬ 
criminating study of the New Testament and of 
the history of the Anglican Church, with which 
they were far more familiar than are we. 

Historically this is the Church for Americans. 
It held the first Christian service on the shores 
of North America and first gave Christian Bap- 


58 


Evangelism in the Church 


tism to a child—a white child born in America. 
It planted the first Christian Church in the first 
permanent colony in America (1607). And its 
members led in the creation of our civil Govern¬ 
ment. 

On its human side this Church is a Democ¬ 
racy in that clergy and laity have equal repre¬ 
sentation in all legislative functions. It is a 
Republic in that there is centralized unity and 
authority through elective local and national 
representatives. It is American in that it con¬ 
serves freedom of conscience. And yet it is truly 
“Catholic” in that it has preserved its divine 
Constitution, and also its official contacts with 
all the Christian past; it recognizes that the 
authority of the whole Church in Council is 
greater than that of any of its parts acting 
independently; and it is inclusive of all Christian 
truth and practice. 

For Americans, particularly at this time, this 
last group of facts has large meaning; and 
should be of great help in the work of leading 
souls to Christ in His Church. 

4. The Question of Church Membership 

“Shall I join the Church?” and “Which 
Church shall I join?” to use the popular mode 
of expression, are serious questions with many 
people, owing to the confusion incident to a 
multiplied denominationalism. 

For this reason, personal workers should not 
only know the basic facts about their Church, 
but also understand the value and relation of 
these facts to human life today. 


Marvelous Agencies Church Provides 59 


Persons who profess willingness to become 
Christians will often indulge, perhaps sincerely 
but none the less mistakenly, in such current 
folly as this: “I can be just as good a 
Christian outside the Church as in it”; “It 
makes no difference w r hat a man believes so long 
as he is sincere,” etc. It is much to the point 
to recall here Mr. Sunday’s reported answer 
to a man who asked, “Must I join the Church?” 
He replied, “You might as well ask, ‘Must I 
take a boat to cross the ocean?’ If you did, I’d 
say, ‘No. The swimming is good.’ ” But who 
w r ants to risk that method? 

The intelligent personal w r orker will be pre¬ 
pared to point out the error in such alibis. And 
he will certainly remember that his work is not 
complete until he has brought his candidate into 
actual Church membership. He must be brought 
to see that in apostolic times “They that gladly 
received the Word were (not only) baptized, 
but they also “Continued steadfastly in the 
apostles’ fellowship,” the Church. And that 
“The Lord added to the Church daily such as 
were being saved.” That means Church mem¬ 
bership. 

Perhaps the best way to bring men into the 
Church is not to ask them to “join” the Church. 
Rather seek to win them as disciples of Jesus 
Christ. That is, of course, the important thing 
for which we strive. But if a man is willing 
to do that, and is sincere in it, he will be eager 
to do all the other necessary things in the plan 
of salvation in natural sequence. 


60 


Evangelism in the Church 


Evangelism, parochial and personal, is dis¬ 
tinctly the work of all Christians. And it 
should greatly fortify us in that work to realize 
the foregoing agencies of grace which we can 
offer to those who seek the way of eternal life. 
It means much to know that the Church is, and 
has, all that a soul needs for its salvation 
through faith in Jesus Christ. 

It is our work to show men the way to Christ 
through His Church. St. Paul states this pre¬ 
cisely when he says that he has been called “to 
make men see what is the fellowship of the mys¬ 
tery” and what are “the unsearchable riches of 
Christ,” to whom he refers as “the head of the 
Church, which is his body, the fulness of him 
that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1: 22, 23. 


PART TWO 
































































































Chapter I 


HOW DID JESUS PERSONALLY 
APPROACH MEN? 

“Did not our heart burn within us, while He 
talked with us by the ivay—and opened to us the 
scriptures?” St. Luke 24: 32. 

Christ, the Saviour of men, must always be looked 
upon as our example in the art of soul-winning, as 
in all else concerning the soul’s life. Upon a careful 
examination of His methods we find the following, 
among other, outstanding facts, which made men’s 
hearts “burn” within them with new aspiration, hope, 
or courage: 

1. Naturae Opportunity 

Jesus seems always to have been looking for nat¬ 
ural opportunity to turn men’s thoughts Godward. 

Whether traveling, fishing, marketing, dining pub¬ 
licly at feasts, or visiting privately with friends, on 
vacations in the mountains and wilderness or engaged 
in public duty, at home or in the temple, He always 
seemed alert to turn the conversation from secular 
to spiritual things. This, of course, involves tact 
and skill. But what the Master did the servant must 
try to do. 

It is to be noted, too, that opportunity came to 
Him so often in the regular course of His life that 
He rarely had to seek or to create one. And if we 
[ 63 ] 


64 Evangelism in the Church 

had eyes to see, and the desire to use them, we should 
find the same wealth of natural opportunity to lead 
men Godward. 

2. Directed Conversation 

Jesus went still further and sought to turn even 
religious conversation from the abstract and general 
to the personal and particular. 

When the scholarly Nicodemus came and was dis¬ 
posed merely to discuss miracles in general, Christ 
turned the conversation easily into the channel of 
the personal miracle of spiritual regeneration as a 
necessity in the life of Nicodemus and of all others 
“born of the flesh.” 

When the sinful Samaritan woman at the well of 
Sychar seemed inclined to harp on ancient racial 
antipathies and religious prejudices in general, as a 
barrier to any humane kindliness from her to Him, 
Christ gently turned the subject into the personal 
channel of her own immediate need for spiritual minis¬ 
trations from Him. It was ever thus throughout 
His earthly career. 

3. Assumed Capacity for God 

Jesus usually assumed men’s capacity for God, 
and their inherent desire to be better than they 
already were. 

The only exceptions were the hypocritical and self- 
righteous. The pretenders alone, having no ears to 
hear, were usually ignored by Him except when they 
presumed to attack truth with their treacherous 
sophistries. Then he poured out upon them such 


How Did Jesus Approach Men? 65 

scathing indignation as men have rarely heard from 
the lips of man. 

4. Adapted Methods 

Jesus did not use the same methods in all cases, 
although His objective was ever the same. 

One point only of similarity in method was gen¬ 
erally present in His efforts to win souls, namely, 
He almost always made a point of contact with peo¬ 
ple by some form of unselfish service for them. Some 
He fed, others He healed. To some He offered appre¬ 
ciation, to others He gave comfort. 

When “proofs” of His authority or power were 
demanded, He usually denied them. When none were 
asked, He gave them. The reason for this difference 
seems to be that He had no time to waste in merely 
satisfying idle curiosity, or in laboratory tests for 
those who simply held the spectator attitude towards 
life. Where “proofs” would strengthen faith, He 
gave them generously. 

Christ did not perform all His healings by identi¬ 
cal means. He did not call all of His disciples in the 
same way. He did not instruct all inquirers, or deal 
with all open sinners in the same manner. He usually 
did three natural, practical things: 

(a) He adjusted His method to the nature 
and need of the individual. To fishermen He 
spoke of fishing; to lawyers of law; to the scholar 
of science; to the farmer of seed time and har¬ 
vests ; to women of household affairs; and to all 
sinners, of salvation. 


66 Evangelism in the Church 

(b) He combined a stimulation of faith in 
God with the idea of self-help. Thus, the man 
with the withered hand must not only “believe” 
but also “stretch forth” the hand. The paraly¬ 
tic who believed must also “arise, take up thy bed 
and walk.” 

(c) He conveyed the impression that duty 
goes with privilege; that giving must accompany 
getting. And so we find Him saying, “freely ye 
have received, freely give”; “If any man will 
know, let him do”; “Go, sin no more, lest a w T orse 
thing come upon thee.” 

Less than this would have made sycophants of His 
beneficiaries. But, because of this, He did not suc¬ 
ceed in winning all whom He personally sought to 
save; for they were not all in earnest, or actuated 
by right motives. Salvation is a thing which requires 
the co-operation of the will of the person who is to be 
saved. 

The rich young ruler whom “Jesus loved” and 
w r ould certainly have liked to save, “went away sor¬ 
rowful.” His will would not co-operate with that of 
Christ. Some of His actual disciples also “went 
away” for the same reason. Even one of His own 
Apostles, Judas, became “the son of perdition” and 
was lost, because his motives in discipleship seem not 
to have made it possible for his will to conform to the 
program of Christ. 

In such cases lies a mystery which we may be 
unable to solve. But there is also encouragement for 
us in them; because we shall sometimes fail to see 
the object of our prayer and effort brought to Christ 
when and as we had hoped. 


Chapter II 


SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MODERN 
PSYCHOLOGY WHICH JESUS SEEMS 
TO HAVE PRACTICED 

“He knew what was in man” St. John 2:25. 

This simple text gives the secret of Christ’s suc¬ 
cess in dealing with men. He knew the psychology 
of man. 

Jesus practiced the technique of psychology so 
perfectly that, although He never used its technical 
language, His methods will bear the most scientific 
scrutiny of today. In fact, some extreme modernists 
go so far as to seek to explain away certain of 
Christ’s miracles on the grounds of His knowledge 
and use of psychological principles. In any case He 
becomes for us the Supreme Teacher in modern meth¬ 
ods of personal Evangelism. 

1. Practical Psychology 

Modern psychology will become of greater practi¬ 
cal use to us than we now realize, even if its present 
applications have not yet been spiritualized. 

And psychology is neither so formidable as its 
awful nomenclature makes it appear, nor so new as 
the faddists would have us believe. 

It is really an old friend masquerading under a 
deceptive new name. For it is merely a knowledge of 
probable human action under a given set of circum- 
[ 67 ] 


68 


Evangelism in the Church 


stances. These actions and reactions are as old as 
man. And persons who know nothing about the new 
technical language of psychology may be even more 
expert psychologists, in practical daily life, than are 
the theoretical experts who furnish the linguistic 
tongue-twisters which are now used to describe it. 

Therefore, no one need hesitate to engage in the 
work of personal Evangelism, which requires the ap¬ 
plication of psychological principles, simply because 
he does not know the modern professional language 
and technique. 

The Christian Church has many centuries of suc¬ 
cessful Evangelism to her credit, during which these 
latter were unknown. Nor is she dependent upon 
them now, although the new age will yield to the 
Gospel more quickly if its truths are presented in a 
language and method psychologically adapted to 
modern conditions. 

The present danger from psychology, against 
which Christian workers must guard, lies in the ten¬ 
dency to substitute it for, or to confound it with, the 
work of divine grace and the operations of the Holy 
Spirit in the life of man. These latter cannot be 
produced by the mechanics of psychology. 

2. A Definition 

The best definition of practical psychology which 
I know was given by St. John in a remark about 
our Lord, “Jesus needed not that any should testify 
of man, for he knew what was in man.” Trans¬ 
lated into language for our own use, this may be con¬ 
strued to mean simply a working knowledge of human 
nature. This is something which every business man 


Some Principles of Modern Psychology 69 

or society woman needs to have and use in the ordi¬ 
nary affairs of daily life. 

No effective personal Evangelism is possible with¬ 
out the use of such methods; but most effective per¬ 
sonal work can be done without any knowledge of the 
academic phase of psychology. Therefore we shall 
avoid its technical terms in this discussion, for the 
purpose of this book is chiefly to present an idea, 
arouse interest, awaken desire, and thus perhaps to 
start a movement for the restoration of Evangelism 
to its rightful place in the program of the Church 
and in the practice of Christians. 

3. Natural Technique 

The methods of Jesus indicate that He generally 
observed certain basic principles of psychology, of 
which we hear much these days in connection with 
pedagogy, salesmanship and public speaking. 

(a) He arrested attention to His words or 
acts by specific but perfectly natural means. 

(b) He secured a point of contact with His 
hearers by studying their lives and identifying 
Himself with them. 

(c) He brought about an association of 
ideas, between the known and the unknown, by 
the use of simple, practical illustrations taken 
from their own sphere of life. 

(d) He made personal application of His 
message unavoidable, by speaking in terms of the 
daily life of His hearers. 

(e) He sought to secure responsive expres¬ 
sion, in harmony with His appeal, by presenting 
a strong reason or incentive for such action. 


70 


Evangelism in the Church 


And He did all this so naturally and simply that 
one is not aware of His method until one analyzes it. 

4. Basic Principles 

Having carefully sown the seed of divine truth, 
Jesus seems not to have worried about results. His 
parable of the sower and the different kinds of soil 
has helpful meanings for the personal worker. Trans¬ 
lated into terms of human nature to which 
we must adapt psychological methods, we should 
have, among others, the following facts to consider 
in our work: 

(a) All persons do not respond with equal 
readiness to given stimuli. 

Peter could, indeed, envision as in a flash the 
great facts that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son 
of God,” and that “God is no respecter of per¬ 
sons.” But Thomas had to think things over 
and plod for a long time to his conclusions. And 
Judas seems never to have accepted the light. 

This is only another way of saying that our 
Lord took temperamental differences into ac¬ 
count, and was patient, knowing that time and 
experience are important factors in conversion 
and soul growth. 

(b) All persons are not attracted by the same 
truths or convinced by the same evidence. 

The “common people heard gladly” some 
things which caused the Scribes and Pharisees to 
“murmur.” Nathanael was at once convinced by 
reason of his quick spiritual insight into Christ’s 
presentation of certain facts. But Nicodemus 


Some Principles of Modern Psychology 71 

closed a greater discussion with the unconvinced 
question, “How can these things be?” When 
Jesus had fed the five thousand, and then tried 
to teach them the spiritual meaning of the 
miracle, some said “Lord, evermore give us this 
(spiritual) bread”; while others skeptically, if 
not sneeringly, asked “How can this man give 
us His flesh to eat?” 

Again this is only another way of saying that 
our Lord took intellectual difference into ac¬ 
count, and was patient, knowing that heredity 
and environment are contributing or deterring 
factors in spiritual perception and response. 

(c) All persons cannot be led to action by 
the same motives. 

Christ called many men to discipleship with 
Him in service. But while Matthew, the publi¬ 
can, at once “left all, rose up and followed 
Jesus,” the rich young ruler “went away sor¬ 
rowful.” Some followed Christ merely, as He 
very well knew, for the “loaves and fishes”; oth¬ 
ers, thinking chiefly of spiritual truth, said 
“Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the 
words of eternal life.” Even among the Twelve 
several had, for a time, selfish motives. One 
said, “We have forsaken all. What shall we 
have therefore?” Others had their eyes upon 
specially honored places in the new Kingdom. 
And some followed Christ for the mere joy of 
companionship and service with One whom they 
loved. 

This is again only another way of saying that 
our Lord took into account differences in spir- 


72 Evangelism in the Church 

itual perception and evaluation, and was patient, 
knowing that one’s point of view and stages of 
maturity are progressive factors in the decisions 
and acts of human life. 

5. Labor and Fruitage 

In these days when it seems as if the test of 
efficiency was confined to immediate results of a 
tangible nature, it is well to consider carefully the 
relation of the following words of Christ to our own 
work as soul winners: “So is the Kingdom of God 
as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and 
should sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed 
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For 
the earth bringeth forth fruit .... first the blade, 
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” 

Of course there comes a time when “He putteth 
in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” But the 
applicable point of this parable, as of that concern¬ 
ing the mustard seed, the leaven, and some others is, 
that the time element, the kind of seed, and the 
nature of the soil, all enter into the question of 
results. 

Even in the Evangelism of our Lord, there is not 
always evidence of immediate or even prospective 
results. Nevertheless, He kept right on sowing the 
seed and left the responsibility for growth with the 
soil, and for the results with “the Lord of the har¬ 
vest.” He was busy planting, not making records 
of results, even for purposes of future “surveys” or 
reports. 

The sobering thought for us all is that “the night 
cometh, when no man can work”; and when the sav- 


Some Principles of Modern Psychology 73 

ing Christ becomes the judging Christ. Therefore 
we should use every proper aid to success in winning 
men for Christ. 

It will be a terrible thing for any of us at the Day 
of Judgment if we should hear from one of our 
acquaintances who may not have been in a state of 
salvation at the hour of death, those accusing words, 
“No man cared for my soul.” 


Chapter III 


PERSONAL METHODS OF THE APOSTLES 

“And the elders took knowledge of them , that 

they had been zmth Jesus.” Acts 4: 13. 

Perhaps some one will say that it is not fair 
to hold up Christ as an example for us in personal 
Evangelism, because He was divine while we are 
human; and, because saving souls was the work for 
which He came to earth, while we modern Christians 
have our business and domestic duties to perform. 

To the first it must be said that the Apostles who 
were only human, as we are (“men of like passions” 
with us) adopted and found it possible to use the 
methods of Christ. And in answer to the second 
objection, we recall the fact that soul-winning was 
specifically made the business of all Christians by 
command of Christ Himself. 

1. Christ’s Methods Were Adaptable 

That the Apostles found the methods of Christ 
workable for themselves is apparent from an analysis 
of some of the limited accounts we have in the Book 
of the Acts. 

(a) A case of apostolic method in personal 
Evangelism. This is found in the third chapter 
of the Book of the Acts, and is the story of 
Peter and John dealing with the lame man at the 
Temple gate. 


[ 74 ] 


Personal Methods of the Apostles 75 

Here the initiative in the interview was taken 
by the lame man in asking an alms. That is, 
opportunity knocked at the door of these two 
Apostles, as it so often comes to us, by an oc¬ 
casion in which we may render physical service 
to the needy. Consider the interesting develop¬ 
ment of this case along the lines which we found 
that Christ usually followed: 

Attention was secured here by direct means. 
The Apostles said, “Look on us.” That they 
secured a point of contact is shown in this, “He 
gave heed to them, expecting to receive some¬ 
thing.” Then came the association of known 
ideas with the unknown, in the words, “Silver 
and gold have I none, but such as I have give 
I unto thee.” The personal application was 
conveyed in the words, “In the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” And the 
appeal for immediate response here is rich and 
illuminating, “And Peter took him by the right 
hand, and lifted him up, and he leaping up, 
stood and walked.” 

The success of this case is vividly portrayed, 
and has great significance for all who are in any 
way trying to do religious work. It shows the 
objective towards which we should always strive. 
After stating that the lame man was physically 
healed, the record is that “He entered with them 
into the Temple .... praising God.” 

There are many physically needy persons to¬ 
day whom humanitarian impulse leads us to help 
in terms of “silver and gold.” But how often do 
we discern in this an opportunity to win a soul 


76 Evangelism in the Church 

for Christ? Much social service work is being 
done today by Christian men and women; but 
in how many cases is this done as a means to the 
spiritual end of bringing souls into the King¬ 
dom of Christ in His Church? 

(b) An apostolic example of pastoral Evan¬ 
gelism. 

In St. Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, 
we find the use of the same psychological prin¬ 
ciples as in the method, previously shown, of 
personal Evangelism. In this case the succes¬ 
sive steps are not so clear-cut as in the former 
two because a long discourse is involved. But 
the sequence of points is the same. For the sake 
of brevity, reference must be made to the nar¬ 
rative as recorded in the third chapter of the 
Book of Acts. Verse numbers only will be given 
here. Acts 2:14-42. 

The attention of the thousands of hearers had 
been gained by the demonstration of spiritual 
power in the lives of the Christian disciples. 
Consider, their faithfulness in obeying Christ’s 
command to “Tarry in Jerusalem, until ye be 
endued with power from on high”; their devout 
and prayerful lives, they had “continued with 
one accord in prayer” for ten days. Then 
we note their courage. They had been timorous 
before, and assembled behind closed doors “for 
fear of the Jews.” Now they stood forth 
openly and spoke of Christ “as the Spirit gave 
them utterance.” 

Attention being secured, St. Peter then estab¬ 
lished several points of contact with the people 


Personal Methods of the Apostles 77 


present. His initial contact was made by telling 
them something about the subject which was 
then uppermost in their minds. Acts 2:14-15; 
basic contact was established by quoting their 
own prophets on that subject. Acts 2:16-21; 
and personal contact resulted from identifying 
himself with them, racially and in a common 
knowledge of events. Acts 2:22-24. 

Next, Peter produced an association of ideas 
by explaining the puzzling facts of the resur¬ 
rection of Christ and the outpouring of the 
Spirit by the prophecies which they all knew. 
Here they were, being fulfilled before their very 
eyes. Acts 2:25-28. 

Peter now made unavoidable the personal ap¬ 
plication of these truths by drawing his hearers 
into relation with the facts now before them. 
They knew the physical facts. Here was their 
spiritual meaning. Acts 2:29-33. 

Finally, Peter sought to secure the proper 
response to his appeal, by saying “Let the house 
of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made 
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both 
Lord and Christ.” What were they going to 
do about it? Acts 2:34-36. 

The rest of the chapter shows the success of 
his effort, for “When they heard this, they were 
pricked at the heart .... received the Word, 
and were baptized.” Acts 2:37-42. 

That is the final objective of all Evangelism, 
whether pastoral, personal or in groups. 

(c) Another typical case of Evangelism, 
without any unusual element such as healing to 


78 


Evangelism in the Church 


form the background. This is the story of 
Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch as found in the 
eighth chapter of the Book of Acts. 

Here a new and vital element is introduced 
which especially concerns the personal worker 
himself. Observe how Philip was led into this 
particular case: “Then the Spirit said unto 
Philip, ‘Go near and join thyself to this 
chariot.’ ” 

Now note the sequence in this case of Philip 
and the eunuch: 

The attention of the eunuch was attracted by 
the fact that “Philip ran thither” to him as he 
sat in his chariot reading the Bible. Contact 
was established by Philip’s question, “Under- 
standest thou what thou readest?” The asso¬ 
ciation of ideas between the known and the un¬ 
known came when “Philip opened his mouth and 
began at the same Scripture, and preached unto 
him Jesus.” That Philip had taught Christian 
truth, and that personal application of that 
teaching had been made, is shown by the eunuch’s 
question, “See, here is water; what doth hinder 
me to be baptized?” Philip’s test answer, “If 
thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest,” 
having been satisfactorily met by the eunuch’s 
reply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God,” we find the response to the appeal in 
the fact that the eunuch “commanded the chariot 
to stand still, and they went down into the water 
.... and Philip baptized him .... and the 
eunuch went on his way rejoicing.” Then the 


Personal Methods of the Apostles 79 


Spirit led Philip on to other labors, happy, we 
may be sure. 

2. The Secret of Power 

It will not do to say that the case of Philip 
is exceptional; that the Holy Spirit does not thus 
lead men today. For, Christ promised that the Holy 
Spirit would be present in the world always. He 
therefore sustains, potentially, the same relation to 
your life and mine as He did to that of Philip. 

Have we not often been moved to say or do this, 
that or the other thing in connection with the re¬ 
ligious life of another? Perhaps we did not respond. 
Fear and false pride, or some other sophistry of the 
devil, held us back. Then followed perhaps some 
uneasiness of conscience. However, the opportunity 
passed and only regret remained. That was the 
spirit of God calling us to personal service for the 
welfare of a soul. It may have been during a time 
when that soul was in some special need, or was 
particularly susceptible to spiritual influences, as was 
the eunuch in this case. But we did not allow our¬ 
selves to be “led of the Spirit” as did Philip. Now 
it is too late to help that soul. 

For such failures we are responsible to God. 
“Lord, have mercy upon us and incline our hearts” 
to heed these calls of Thy love for service to our 
fellowmen. 

It is most noteworthy that not even on so great 
occasions as these was there any evidence of the pre¬ 
arranged, high-pressure methods which are so often 
resorted to in current Evangelism. The Apostles had 
the enduement of the Holy Spirit, and hence did 


80 


Evangelism in the Church 


not need to use artificial substitutes in order to gen¬ 
erate the semblance of His power. 

Since the method used by our Lord was adaptable 
and effective in the work of the Apostles, who were 
human in the same sense as we are, it is also prac¬ 
ticable for us. And much help and inspiration will 
come to us from a further study of the wide range 
of personal and public occasions when Christ and the 
Apostles dealt with souls in the effort to save them. 


Chapter IV 


SOME MODERN CASES AND HOW TO DEAL 
WITH THEM 

“Be not afraid . ... go tell” St. Matthew 

28 : 10 . 

Why should any Christian be afraid to tell others 
the story of the saving love and power of Christ? 
Perhaps it is only because of inexperience, the fear 
of a new enterprise. Following are a few typical 
cases for preparatory study. They will indicate the 
simplicity of the method. 

Any technical course of study which involves human 
personality has its dangers, however, as well as its ad¬ 
vantages. The outstanding danger is that the stu¬ 
dent may come to think of persons as merely “cases” 
instead of human souls. The advantages depend 
upon the use which one makes of such clinical study. 

There are difficulties in such study. One cannot cat¬ 
alog human life or card index souls. Personal charac¬ 
teristics neither lend themselves to general classifica¬ 
tion, nor group themselves alike in any two individ¬ 
uals. Mental and spiritual qualities are sometimes in 
harmony, at others in conflict, in the same person. 

Therefore, in giving the following examples of types 
with which the personal worker must deal, the writer 
is conscious of certain limitations upon himself in 
the statement of typical groups. It will also be seen 
at once that several of the portrayed difficulties may 
be present in a single person, and that in others none 
of them will appear. 


[ 81 ] 


82 Evangelism in the Church 

1. Alibis (See notes at end of chapter.) 

In dealing with souls it must be remembered that 
most people belong to the alibi class, even as Adam 
and Eve; and that Satan is certain to interpose an 
alibi between a sinning soul and its salvation. Self¬ 
exaltation or self-deprecation, the hypocritical atti¬ 
tude or the imagined doubt—these, and a dozen other 
things, will be used to camouflage the real state of 
mind and heart. 

To meet this situation, in any given case, pene¬ 
trating discernment is better than argument; and 
prayer, with dependence upon the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit, far exceeds even expert academic knowl¬ 
edge as an effective equipment. 

It is usually wise to give courteous consideration 
to an alibi for not becoming a Christian; and then, 
on the assumption that it has been sincerely given, 
suggest something like the following: “Well, suppose 
that your difficulty or objection were satisfactorily 
removed or met, would you then be willing to accept 
Christ as your Saviour, and follow Him as your 
Master in an honest discipleship?” If the person in¬ 
volved has not been sincere in his alleged problem- 
alibi, he will of course say “No.” But by that very 
fact he may become “ashamed” as was Adam, and be 
led to a more serious thinking which may result in 
his conversion. 

It is also well to ask, when dealing with persons 
who have alleged doubts, “What do you believe?” 
And then suggest that they use that as a starting 
point for the Christian life, remembering that “Now 
we see through a glass, darkly,” and that all human 


Some Modern Cases 


83 


progress is based upon some phase or degree of faith. 
“Doubt your doubts and believe 3 'our beliefs” is a 
good motto to follow. 

No effort will be made in the following analysis to 
group modern cases under the classical examples of 
New Testament Evangelism which are usually given in 
personal worker’s Manuals; because this is not a com¬ 
plete textbook, but merely a syllabus of the im¬ 
portant subject of soul-winning. For the same reason 
I do not follow the textual method so largely adopted 
in other books on this subject, but offer merely typical 
texts in certain cases, leaving it for individual study 
to find others. 

Other answers or arguments than those suggested 
here will readily come to the mind of the personal 
worker as he deals with each individual case; and will 
probably be much more to the particular point than 
these, because they rise spontaneously under the chal¬ 
lenge of an immediate situation. They will come with 
the charm of an inspired repartee, if the worker en¬ 
ters upon his effort with prayer for the Spirit’s 
guidance. 

Consider then that first typical group with which 
the average Christian worker will have to deal most 
often: 

2. Nominal Christians 

The self-styled nominal Christian. Nominal 
means, in name only. 

The name Christian is used so loosely nowadays 
that it serves as a mantle to cover a multitude of 
sins, by many who do not believe the Christian creed, 
do not read the Christian Scriptures, do not pray or 


84 


Evangelism in the Church 


attend the Christian Church, have not been baptized, 
and do not engage in Christian service in fellowship 
with Christians as members of Christ’s Church. 
Claiming to be a Christian does not make one such. 
The name “nominal Christians” also includes many 
lapsed or lukewarm Church members. 

This type usually has lacked energy to think 
enough either to lead to doubt, in a red-blooded way, 
or to become a Christian and act as such a person 
should. But he usually has too much pride to admit, 
even to the census taker, that he has no religious affili¬ 
ations. 

And so he is just “nominal.” It must have 
been of such that Christ said, “Thou hast a name that 
thou livest, and art dead.” Or again, “I know thy 
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then, 
because thou art lukewarm, I will spue thee out of 
my mouth.” Rev. 3:1, 14-16. 

The nominal Christian of any type is a real prob¬ 
lem and a rather drab subject for treatment. Adroit 
questioning is necessary even to classify him. In 
some cases he is as near a nonentity, in the sense 
of spiritual personality, as a moron. Some of them 
are thus spiritually dead because they have never 
been “born of the Spirit”; others, because of arrested 
spiritual development. They had, as Christ said, 
“received the seed among thorns .... and the cares 
of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke 
the Word, and he becometh unfruitful.” In any case 
the nominal Christian is as great a spiritual tragedy 
as is that of a mental or physical dwarf in the 
material world. 


Some Modern Cases 


85 


This kind of spiritual parasite comes in several 
varieties, each of which must be dealt with in a differ¬ 
ent way. In some cases, perhaps the most effective 
thing to do would be to let him know the unpleasant 
fact that he is a parasite. It might be a real means 
of grace to him to learn in what ways he is a parasite; 
that he is receiving the social, moral and economic 
benefits of Christianity, and contributing nothing of 
idealism, life or effort to the Cause and organization 
through which he derives all those higher things which 
make our modern life sweet, safe and sane— in so far 
as it is so. 

Consider only three kinds of “nominal Christians”: 

(a) The lodge or club devotee. 

The alibi of this type, when definite Church 
membership and work are presented to him, is 
usually one of two statements: “My lodge is 
religion enough for me,” or “I can do just as 
much good through my club as through the 
Church.” 

This smoke screen is easy to penetrate. It is 
worse than useless to make the sarcastic retort 
which is sometimes given, namely, “It doesn’t 
take much to satisfy some people”; because that 
at once puts a man on the defensive, and may 
alienate him entirely. In fact, any evidence 
of sarcasm is fatal to success in winning souls. 
Plain speaking, yes; but sarcasm never. 

Sometimes such persons are really sincere and 
deeply in earnest. The insincere should be dealt 
with on that basis. The method may have to be 
drastic. But since this is no place for sparring 


86 


Evangelism in the Church 


lessons or surgery, and because we cannot antici¬ 
pate all the ifs, ands and buts of such cases, we 
leave them to the consecrated tact and judgment 
of the worker, acting under divine guidance. 

Where such alibis are given in sincerity, it is 
usually because the persons giving them have 
a wrong sense of values as between the Church 
and the lodge. What is here needed is the 
kindly effort to correct the basis of valuation. 
Do not “knock” the lodge, but show the sur¬ 
passing value of the Christian religion as exem¬ 
plified through the Church, in the lives of men 
and the history of civilization. 

The lodge man’s usual remark that “If .a man 
lives up to the teachings of his lodge, he will be 
a good man,” can be neatly used against his posi¬ 
tion by saying “Yes, but if he accepts Jesus 
Christ as his personal Saviour, and worships and 
serves Him in His Church, he will not only be 
a better, happier and more useful man here, in 
this world, but will also have assurance of life 
in the world to come; because that is the plain 
truth and promise of God. I Corinthians 3:11. 
No such divine promises attach to the lodge. 
Besides, to be a Christian includes more than 
being ‘good.’ It involves a relationship with 
God, established through the program and 
power of Jesus Christ.” 

(b) The personal liberty type. 

“I can be just as good,” or “I can worship 
God just as well outside the Church as in it,” is 
the camouflage with which this man seeks to 
cover the selfish indolence of his life. 


Some Modern Cases 


87 


What shall be said to one suffering from this 
delusion? Ask a simple question: “Do 3 r ou? 
Do you worship God, outside the Church, or 
anywhere else? Are you sure that without God’s 
grace, you can be just as good as you would be 
with its aid? How do } r ou know that you can, 
when you have never given yourself the benefit 
of it?” 

Then, if he is argumentative, suggest that 
there are spiritual possibilities available for him 
which lie far beyond his present experience or 
attainment. And ask him, ever so kindly and 
earnestly, “Is it safe to assume that you are 
wiser than the God who made you and provided 
a personal Saviour and divine means of grace 
for your salvation?” It may be wise to leave 
him just at this point to think it over. Proverbs 
14:12. 

(c) The smug man outside the Church. 

“My religion is just as good as yours,” is the 
belligerent answer with which he greets any effort 
to enlist him for the service of Christ in His 
Church. 

Is it not queer that the same person who would 
indignantly spurn the “just as good” article, 
when offered by a merchant who cannot supply 
the original thing desired, will complacently 
swallow this “just as good” alibi as a substitute 
for the religion of Jesus Christ? 

The fallacy of this alibi is clearly shown by 
the fact that the “just as good” religion fails 
its devotees in all the crises of their lives! The 
Church and its clergy are still called upon when, 


88 


Evangelism in the Church 


as Billy Sunday said, “God backs the hearse up 
to their front door.” 

One needs only a little patience to disillusion 
an honest man whom “Satan hath bound, lo 
these many years” with this delusion. It may 
be done somewhat along this line: 

“What do you mean by ‘My religion ? 9 If 
religion is only a set of opinions about God and 
life, both here and hereafter, then perhaps your 
opinions are just as good as mine. But if, as is 
the case, the Christian religion is a personal 
relationship with God, established through the 
person, power and program of Jesus Christ, who 
now saves men from sin through the ordained 
means of grace administered in His name by His 
Church, then your religion is not as good as 
mine. Think it over.” 

It will probably be necessary to show such a 
man that the above is true; that Christ specific¬ 
ally founded His Church, and gave it both the 
method and spiritual enduement to extend the 
benefits of His Incarnation and Atonement to 
all mankind throughout all ages; that the 
ministry of the Word and Sacraments, to¬ 
gether with Christian fellowship in worship and 
service, constitute the Christian religion; and 
that therefore, nothing less than that can 
be “just as good” in the sight of God or for 
man. 

It will not be difficult for any one who has a 
positive Christian faith about these things him¬ 
self, to present them convincingly. But if a lay¬ 
man feels unprepared to do this, he should seek 


Some Modern Cases 


89 


to establish contact between such a person and 
the pastor of the Church. That will be the same 
kind of personal Evangelism which St. Andrew 
practiced when he brought his brother to Jesus, 
or when Philip brought his friend Nathanael. 
St. John 1:40-51. 

(d) The indifferent type. 

Of the more than fifty-seven varieties of these, 
I select but two as typical of the main lines of 
defense-alibis for the non-performance of known 
duty. 

(i) “Sunday is the only day I have, for this 
that and the other”—rest, play, private enter¬ 
prise, etc. 

This may be met somewhat in this wise: 

“Yes, Sunday is the only day you have, free 
and protected against enforced toil or the claims 
of another’s greed. But, where and how did you 
get it? God set that Day apart by an eternal 
decree. And the Church throughout the ages 
has defended it, both against organized attack 
and personal neglect. If the Church should, for 
a short time only, relinquish her vigilance, you 
would soon have no Sunday for your play, rest 
or family life.” 

“Don’t you think that you should do some¬ 
thing on Sunday to express gratitude to God 
for this blessing; to help conserve it; and to 
increase its benefits to others? The only way in 
which you can do this is to use it as God ordained 
and His Church provides.” 

If someone replies that, Christ said, “The 
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sab- 


90 


Evangelism in the Church 


bath,” one may say, “Yes. That is true. But 
He made it for the whole man, mind and soul, as 
well as for the body and its satisfactions. And 
since the spiritual part of man is the highest, 
it should receive first, even if not exclusive, at¬ 
tention on Sunday, in such approaches to God 
as He Himself has provided in His Church. Be¬ 
sides, the Sabbath was made for all men, as well 
as for your whole self. That means that you 
have no right to cause any other man to work 
on Sunday for your pleasure. This includes 
your “caddie,” gasoline station agent and the¬ 
atre employee. He too has a right to rest and 
to worship and to play in his own way.” This 
one thing alone would end most of the violations 
of the principle of Sunday, such as paid public 
amusements, excursions and retail business now 
active on the Lord’s Day. 

The man who seeks to hide behind this alibi 
merely convicts himself of sin, and should be 
dealt with on that line alone. Indifference to 
God’s will is, and leads to, other sin. 

(ii) “My father made me go to church so 
much when I was a boy, that now I do not 
go at all,” exceeds in the degree of its silliness 
even the unutterable selfishness of the preceding 
case. 

The answer is simple, and consists of strip¬ 
ping the mask from off its cowardly face: “Yes, 
if your father did his duty, he did make you go 
to church. But that is no reason why you 
should not go now. He also made you rise for 
breakfast in the morning; wash your face; do 


Some Modern Cases 


91 


some work; go to school; and go to bed at night. 
Is that any reason why you should stop rising, 
bathing, eating, working or learning something 
now? It is very likely that your father also 
imposed truthfulness and honesty upon you. 
Shall you therefore now be a liar and a thief? 
You should thank your father, not blame him, 
for all his good and wise compulsions; and try 
to honor his memory by the nobility of your life 
in the virtues he taught you. Anyway, whether 
or not he made you go to church, that is your 
duty now; for that is the will of your heavenly 
Father.” 

This alibi also is a cloak for sin; and should 
be dealt with accordingly. Hebrews 10: 23-29. 

(e) The religious tramp. 

He will tell you that, “I go to all the churches. 
They are all good.” But he is usually neither a 
member nor a worker in any Church. Someone 
has given this type the name of “sermon taster.” 

He sips honey from every flower, for himself; 
but neither does nor contributes anything to help 
support or to enlarge the garden in which the 
flowers grow. 

After a while he will, of course, come to the 
husks of his selfish life, when he may return to 
his Father and say, “I have sinned.” Until then 
there is not much that anyone can do to convert 
him from the error of his ways; for he is too 
selfish to see or to appreciate the divine love of 
the Saviour to whom he should come, or to heed 
the need of others whom he might serve. Even 
the wonderful father in the parable had to wait 


92 Evangelism in the Church 

until his selfish son “came to himself” before he 
could receive him into the old home and its love. 
St. Luke 15:11-24. 

(f) The pragmatic humanitarian. 

He sometimes has the show of virtue on his 
side. His alibi for remaining outside the Church 
is usually something like this: “The churches 
are doing nothing,” by which he probably means 
the absence of ameliorative social service. 

In reply I always tell such men, “You are 
just the person I am looking for. You are try¬ 
ing to do one phase of the work of Christ. Come 
into His Church and help us to start something 
along that line. Perhaps you will find that 
Christ has something also to give you, which 
you need.” 

Of course he is apt to balk at this, though 
not always. And if he does, his alibi falls so 
flat that nothing further need be said; and it is 
easier to get at the real heart of the matter in 
his case, and deal with it as it needs. 

In some cases, however, it is wise to present 
the actual facts of the Church’s activities, in a 
broad way, and then invite a man to prepare 
himself to serve Christ in the fellowship of His 
Church. Galatians 2:16. 

3. Self-Confessed Sinners 

The case of self-confessed sinners, or those who 
obviously live careless lives, morally. These usually 
fall into three classes, with corresponding alibis: 

(a) “I am not good enough to join the 
Church.” 


Some Modern Cases 


93 


Bishop Gore refers to this excuse as “the 
Phariseeism of the Publican.” 

Here one may as well be quite frank and say, 
sympathetically, however, “Certainly. That is 
just why you should come into the Church. If 
everyone waited until he was good enough, no 
one could be a member.” 

This alibi is based upon a false concept of the 
nature and purpose of the Church. It should 
therefore be made quite clear to such an one 
that the Church is not an exclusive society for 
the supposed-to-be “goody-goods,” but that it 
is especialty for those who, knowing that they 
are not as good as they should be, desire to 
become better by using the means which Christ 
appointed for that express purpose. The illus¬ 
tration of the school and hospital will serve very 
well. Point out that we do not wait until our 
children or friends are wise enough to graduate, 
or well enough to leave the hospital, before we 
take them there; but that the very opposite is 
true. We go to school to learn enough to grad¬ 
uate. We go to the hospital to get well. And 
we become members of the Church in order to be¬ 
come, by the grace of God, better than we are. 
Romans 5: 6, 8; St. Matthew 9:12, 13. 

(b) “I am afraid that I shall fail, or will not 
live a consistent Christian life. And I hate hy¬ 
pocrisy.” 

“Fine. We all hate hypocrisy. But what 
is a hypocrite? One who pretends. A hypocrite 
is not one who fails of perfect attainment, but of 
sincere effort. All that we promise at baptism, 


94 Evangelism in the Church 

which is the initial step in Church membership, 
is that we will endeavor, b}' God’s help, to be 
and to do certain things, namely, to renounce 
evil so that we shall not be “led by it,” to believe 
the Christian Faith, and to try to “keep God’s 
will and commandments.” The only way in which 
3 'ou can be a hypocrite, then, is by failure to try 
to do these things.” 

But there is another phase of this case which 
needs careful attention. Of course a man will 
fail to live the Christian life if he tries it in his 
own strength. But that is the very thing which 
we are not expected to do. Here the Christian 
worker will need to be able to show God’s part in 
the plan of salvation; and the relation of prayer 
and sacrament, as means of grace, to strengthen 
the soul for its conflicts with evil. 

It is well in such cases to make generous use 
of appropriate Scripture texts, as means of as¬ 
surance on specific points of difficulty. In this 
case much help might come from such passages 
as, II Corinthians 12:9; St. John 10:28-29; I 
Corinthians 10:13; St. Jude 24; II Timothy 
1:12, etc. 

(c) The most tragic of all cases under this 
general head is that of the person who says, and 
honestly believes that, “I am too great a sinner. 
God cannot forgive me.” 

The hopeful thing about such a case is that 
he recognizes that he is a sinner. That leaves, 
as the chief work to be done by a Christian 
worker, only the effort to rebuild hope, and to 


Some Modern Cases 95 

convince him of God’s love and power to save— 
even him. 

In such cases Scripture texts are the most 
helpful agents of grace to the soul. Use such 
passages as St. John 3:16 (the “whosoever” 
here includes even the worst), Hebrews 7:25, 
Colossians 2:13-15, etc. And remind such per¬ 
sons that even the malefactor on the cross was 
forgiven, because he was penitent and believed in 
Christ. St. Luke 23:39-43; St. John 6:37; I 
Timothy 1:15. 

4. The Self-Righteous 

The self-righteous type, whether within or out¬ 
side the membership of the Church. 

(a) The non-Church Pharisee. 

The so-called “self-made man” and the snob¬ 
bish woman often belong to this class. Their 
alibi, often superciliously given, when ap¬ 
proached about Church membership, is this: 
“There are so many hypocrites in the Churches.” 

Just reply, pleasantly, “Oh well, never mind. 
There is always room for one more. Come on 
in.” Then, when he gets over the shock to his 
conceit, perhaps you can help him into the King¬ 
dom along some line, nearer to the facts of his 
life than is his alibi. Job 27:8-12; I Corin¬ 
thians 10:12; II Corinthians 10:12-15. 

We must, however, be prepared to face the 
sordid fact that there are hypocrites in the 
Church. But our answer in this case may well 
be to ask, “Do you stop being an American citi- 


96 


Evangelism in the Church 


zen because there are civic hypocrites, grafters, 
and criminals in this country? Do you allow 
them to deprive you of either your privileges or 
your duties as a citizen?” The same argument 
applies also to their clubs and lodges. The 
observations on the meaning of “hypocrite,” 
given in a previous case, may also be brought to 
bear here. In this connection it is to the glory 
of our Church that she does not condition mem¬ 
bership upon attainment, but upon honesty of 
effort. In this she follows the clear teaching of 
Christ who promised rewards to the “good and 
faithful servant”—not alone to the successful. 

There is often occasion also to point out that 
it is possible to be a greater hypocrite outside 
the Church than any who might be so classed 
in its membership; namely, the man who pre¬ 
tends that he is better without even trying God’s 
plan of salvation, than are those inside who do 
try, measurably. Surely the man who rejects 
Christ as the Saviour, and disobeys God’s law 
of worship and service, while pretending that he 
is too good to associate with Church members, 
is an unqualified hypocrite; and ought to be 
made to see that ugly fact. 

Such cases should be met frankly upon the 
grounds which St. John states, “If we say we 
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth 
is not in us.” Remind them also that “God is 
not mocked.” St. Matthew 7 :l-5; Romans 
2:1-5 and 14:12. 

(b) The smug Pharisee within the Church. 

He runs true to his ancient prototype, who 


Some Modern Cases 


97 


gave as his alibi for heart allegiance the famous 
words which Christ so roundly condemned, 
“Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other men 
are” .... I do so and so. And he made it 
perfectly clear that everybody in the parish who 
did not do his so and so was a nobody. 

In modern Church life he is the type which 
also balks at the Litany, says the Penitential 
Office with mental reservations or only as an 
intercession for others, and is always squeamish 
about the General Confession. 

Every Christian worker runs into this nui¬ 
sance. He is in all religious bodies. To coddle 
him only makes him worse. There is only one 
way to deal with him, with any hope of saving 
his blighted soul, and that is in some perfectly 
Christian manner to unmask him. It isn’t a 
pleasant task. It may take several nights alone 
in some mountain of prayer to get yourself into 
the right spiritual condition to do it. And I 
suppose that there are really very few Christian 
workers who should even try it. 

We should remember, in this connection, that 
our Lord Himself failed to win such men. It was 
the only type among whom He did not seem to 
“save some.” It is the only group whom He 
unsparingly condemned. It was the only set of 
people to whom He said, “Ye shall receive the 
greater condemnation” .... “How can ye 
escape the damnation of hell?” 

Perhaps the best thing we can do in such cases 
is to remind them of St. John’s words, “If we 


98 


Evangelism in the Church 


say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and 
His word is not in us.” 

But one must be sure that he is using “a 
righteous judgment” before he so classifies any 
man. It is so easy for one to slip into the “holier 
than thou” attitude himself. And it is as 
dangerous as it is easy. The above ammunition 
should be used only with persons who actually 
express such pharisaical sentiments themselves. 
St. Matthew 5:20; Romans 2:11-16. 

5. The Intellectuals 

As modern learning becomes the possession of a 
larger proportion of our population, and our educa¬ 
tional system becomes more secularized, there de¬ 
velops an increasing tendency to question spiritual 
truth. This fact creates several problems for the 
personal worker. 

(a) The honest inquirer. 

There being no special doubt or difficulty in 
such a case, care should be taken to raise none 
by too much talking. 

Carefully selected books, of the fact type 
rather than of apologetics, evidences, etc., will 
be of great service. 

Instruction would be adapted to his religious 
antecedents or predilections—if Roman Catho¬ 
lic, Anglican, Protestants, or agnostic. 

Above all else, Christ, as the source and center 
of our life and faith and works, should be ex¬ 
alted. And one would not lose sight of the fact 
that the chief thing such a man needs is to be 


Some Modern Cases 


99 


shown that the Christian religion is a relation¬ 
ship with God through Jesus Christ, and that it 
involves not only morality, but also the forgive¬ 
ness of sins and the new birth of the Spirit. 

(b) The honest doubter. 

There are such. Their case is often pathetic. 
Some men are really so constituted or trained 
that it seems difficult for them to accept what 
they do not understand. 

They need first to be shown that they do 
accept most things of this natural life, physically 
and otherwise, without understanding either the 
nature or process thereof. 

It is only a step from there to the next point, 
namely, that they should be as reasonable re¬ 
garding the things of the spirit as of the body. 
When they get the fact that understanding of 
the Why or the How has nothing to do with 
deriving the benefits of a thing, they are near 
to the Kingdom. The specific points of their 
doubt must be met fairly, with facts not mere 
arguments. Even material scientists now ac¬ 
knowledge the possibility of many spiritual 
things once flatly denied, because of certain per¬ 
sistent facts in human experience. 

This kind of a man cannot be crowded. Let 
him digest facts. Feed him carefully selected 
books, among them, as chief, the New Testament. 

Philip’s method with the Ethiopian eunuch is 
the right method, “Understandcst thou what 
thou readest?” Then, beginning “at the same 
scripture he preached unto him Jesus.” 

(c) The man with a “pose.” The caviler. 


100 Evangelism in the Church 

Loss of faith, through intellectual processes, 
is rare. Moral laxity, a hidden sin, spiritual 
sluggishness, often masquerade under the alibi of 
intellectual problems of faith. 

The suggestion made in paragraph six at the 
head of this chapter is the best starting point. 
Then give him the plain teaching of Christ re¬ 
garding sin and his need of a Saviour. 

6. The Confused 

There are persons, some of them members of vari¬ 
ous religious bodies, who have become so confused 
by their own past experiences or by their reading 
and environment, that they have “given up” going 
to any church. 

Some of these do not belong to the class of 
the indifferent, to which they are often consigned. 
Instead, one often finds among them the tragedy 
of real spiritual hunger, unsatisfied. They are, for 
instance: 

(a) The man who, in rejecting an impossible 
theology, thinks that he has thereby given up 
Christianity itself. 

This t} T pe is so numerous that one can only 
suggest a general method, leaving the specific 
treatment to be worked out prayerfully by the 
personal worker. 

In such cases it is well to encourage an exact 
statement of the thing which the individual thinks 
he has rejected. Then, without argument, show 
him what is the teaching of the Catholic Church 
(or shall we say historic Christendom) on that 
point. In other words, give him the Gospel of 


Some Modern Cases 


101 


Christ to replace the rejected traditions and 
shibboleths of men. 

(b) The man who had been converted under 
an emotional experience which is now dead; and 
who thinks that he has therefore “lost” his re¬ 
ligion. 

First, try to show him that Christ’s religion 
is neither an emotion, nor dependent upon 
feeling; that it rests upon the promises of God 
which “He will most surely keep and perform”; 
and that, in the sacramental life, God fulfils 
His covenants of grace with men. 

Then point out that the Christian life is one 
of faith in God; and that true religious feeling 
comes only from personal relations and experi¬ 
ence with Christ, and through service for Him. 
This is not to discredit emotion in religion. It 
merely puts emotion in its right place as related 
to human experience. 

If such a man has not been baptized or con¬ 
firmed, either explain these means of grace to 
him, or introduce him to your pastor for that 
purpose. His special problems, if he has any, 
must be met on their own merits. 

But make one thing clear, namely, that it is 
only by a vital union with God through Christ 
that he can hope for the throb of feeling of the 
divine life in his soul. St. John 15:1-9. 

(c) The people who say, “We do not under¬ 
stand the Episcopal Church,” or who present 
specific misunderstandings, as an excuse for not 
being confirmed. 


102 


Evangelism in the Church 

There are several things to consider here: 
What effort have they made, or what opportu¬ 
nity have they had, to understand the Church? 
In any case, give them books (small, plain ones). 
Get them to church. Explain what you can 
about the Prayer Book and the service. Call 
your rector into the case. 

If their attitude is based upon misunderstand¬ 
ing, locate the difficulty and meet it on its merits 
according to its nature. Perhaps the most com¬ 
mon of these are the following: 

(i) “The Episcopal Church is just like the 
Roman Catholic.” Don’t be afraid of this. Sim¬ 
ply point out that there may possibly be actual 
merit in this fact; that all Christian bodies are 
something like Rome. For example : 

Rome uses the Bible, believes the Christian 
Creed, administers the two sacraments generally 
necessary to salvation, and has an apostolic min¬ 
istry. So do, and have we. 

Rome builds churches, worships God, practices 
prayer, and teaches Christian virtues. So do 
we. 

All of these things are of the Gospel. We 
should not want to be or do otherwise. All non- 
Roman Churches do some of these things, and 
are to that good extent “just like Rome.” 

But it will also be necessary to point out, and 
to explain, certain points of vital difference be¬ 
tween Rome and us. These would include, among 
other things, the following: 

The papal claims; certain doctrinal matters, 
such as transubstantiation and purgatory; and 


Some Modern Cases 


103 


some practices like compulsory auricular con¬ 
fession, and Mariolatry. In common with all 
other non-Roman Branches of the Holy Catholic 
Church, we reject all of these, and are therefore 
not “just like Rome.” 

(ii) On the other hand, some persons misun¬ 
derstand us because, claiming to be a true 
Branch of the Holy Catholic Church, we have 
the word “Protestant” in the title page of our 
Book of Common Prayer. 

This is not so serious a difficulty to meet as it 
seems to some people. One has only to look at 
the meaning and history of that w r ord. 

When the ecclesiastical term “Protestant” was 
born, it was used in apposition to Roman 
Christianity. And right here it must be remem¬ 
bered that Rome was not the only Branch of the 
Catholic Church at that time. There were also 
the Eastern Orthodox and the Church of Eng¬ 
land, from which the American Episcopal 
Church is derived. 

The Church of England therefore saw nothing 
inconsistent with her true catholicity, when she 
used the term “the Protestant religion”; for it 
meant the Catholic religion in its non-Roman 
form. Thus the word “Protestant” came to us 
in the Episcopal Church in America. And it 
must be recalled again that at that time the term 
“Protestant” did not, as now, include denomina¬ 
tions and pseudo Christian cults, some of which 
deny such basic facts of Christianity as the deity 
of our Lord, His Atonement and Resurrection. 

At this present time the word “Protestant” in 


104 


Evangelism in the Church 


our official title has a double significance. It not 
only registers our protest against the non-Cath- 
olic additions to the Christian Faith, which 
Rome has made, but also against the subtrac¬ 
tions from the Catholic Faith which have been 
made by modern religious bodies. 

If we were now choosing a name, we might be 
able to find a better one. But to change a name, 
after such long usage, is difficult. It may some¬ 
time be done. 

Note 1 . Alibi means, “elsewhere.” Technically it consists 
of the claim or evidence of an accused person that he was else¬ 
where at the time when a crime was committed at a certain 
place. But popular usage has expanded this meaning to in¬ 
clude excuses in general which people give for not doing what 
they should have done. Therefore it seems a suitable word to 
use in connection with excuses for not being and doing things 
religious. 

Note 2. Strictly speaking it is incorrect to use the term 
“join the Church.” One can no more join the Church than he 
can become a member of a family by “joining” it. Only birth 
or adoption can make one a member and heir of a family. 
And it is only by the new birth, spiritual regeneration in Bap¬ 
tism, that we become members of the Body of Christ, the 
Church. But since we are here dealing with popular concepts 
we use the current language. 


Chapter V 


EPILOGUE 

America is, technically, a Christian nation, if 
judged by the charter which governed the Virginia 
Colonists of 1607, and by the Mayflower Compact 
adopted by the Plymouth Colonists of 1620. 

Americanism is Christianity civically expressed, if 
judged by the almost unanimous Church membership 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence 
and the Constitution of the United States, and by 
the nature of the laws and institutions created by 
them. 

But America has sinned. She does not now walk 
faithfully according to the ideals and principles of 
her Christian Founders. She is backsliding, and in 
danger of losing her sacred heritage and of failing 
of her high destiny. Something needs to be done 
at once if America is to be saved. The present 
problem involves not merely the important work of 
saving individual souls, but of saving the soul of a 
Nation! 

No one less than God can save America. And 
nothing less than the religion of His Blessed Son, 
Jesus Christ, can so purify human life, and govern 
the motives of its action, as to conserve our liberties 
and advance modern civilization. 

The Church of Christ is the only agency divinely 
created and commissioned to teach and to administer 
the truth and grace which came by Jesus Christ. 

[ 105 ] 


106 


Evangelism in the Church 


And Christian Evangelism, by pulpit and pew, is the 
only method by which all these vital facts may be 
made known to, and effective in, the lives of men 
today. 

If we are loyal citizens, and love our Country, we 
shall want to see America saved and the welfare of 
her people conserved. 

If we are earnest Christians, and love our Church, 
we shall want to see her influence increased so that 
she may fulfil her divine mission in relation to our 
Country’s need. 

If we are sincere disciples of Jesus Christ, and love 
our fellow men, we shall want to bring them also to 
a saving knowledge of our Lord. 

Help make America really Christian, by uniting in 
a mobilization of Christian forces for an “Every 
member Evangelism.” 


PART THREE 





APPENDIX 

I 

PRAYERS ON EVANGELISM 

Most of the precomposed and extemporaneous 
prayers, which relate at all to Evangelism, place the 
burden for conversion or reclamation either upon God 
or the sinner. 

We have all heard such prayer-phrases as these: 

“Grant that all men everywhere may seek after 
Thee and find Thee”; “Grant that all mankind may 
look unto Thee and be saved”; “Have compassion on 
those who are sitting in darkness,” etc. 

Surely, both God and the sinner have much to do 
with conversion. But Christians must do something 
about it also. And it would seem to be dishonorable 
for us to pray for anything for which we are unwill¬ 
ing to work. And therefore, since Christians in gen¬ 
eral are apathetic and ineffective regarding personal 
Evangelism, we should pray and think more in terms 
of our own activity in the matter of the conversion of 
others. 

More and more should we pray in the spirit of that 
striking collect: “Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, 
the wills of Thy faithful people; that they, plente- 
ously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by 
Thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord, Amen." 

Conformably with this idea, we offer herewith a 
number of prayers for various phases of Evangelism, 
[ 109 ] 


110 Evangelism in the Church 

composed, or compiled by the author from many 
sources, for the use of individual workers or in groups. 

1. For Evangelism in General 

Increase, 0 heavenly Father, the faith and zeal of 
all Thy people, that they may more earnestly desire, 
and more diligently seek, the salvation of their fel¬ 
low men. And so arouse and bless all the members of 
Thy Church, in their several vocations or ministries, 
that multitudes may be brought to Thee by their 
labors; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. 

Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly 
beseech Thee to send forth Thy Holy Spirit upon all 
Christian people in this land (especially, . . . .) 
and so fill them with His power, and move them to 
Christian service for the conversion of others, that 
they may bring souls to Thee, to the glory of Thy 
holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

O God, who, through the life and preaching of the 
blessed Apostle, St. Paul, and of all Thy faithful 
disciples, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine 
throughout the world; Grant, we beseech Thee, that 
we and all Thy people, having their wonderful devo¬ 
tion in remembrance, and being inheritors of their 
labors, may show forth our thankfulness unto Thee 
for the same, by a like faithfulness in service for the 
conversion of our fellow men; through Jesus Christ, 
our Redeemer and Lord. Amen. 

O Father of mercies, who in Thine only begotten 
Son hast revealed Thy boundless compassion for sin¬ 
ners; Forgive, we pray Thee, our coldness of heart 


Appendix 


111 


and our lack of zeal in evangelistic service; and so 
enlarge our vision, inspire our minds and warm our 
hearts, that we may fervently desire the salvation of 
our fellow men, and with ready diligence labor for 
their conversion; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 
Amen. 

2. For Study or Training Groups in Evangelism 

Almighty God, who didst give such grace to Thy 
holy Apostle St. Andrew, that he readily obeyed the 
calling of Thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed Him 
without delay; Grant unto us all, that we, being 
called by Thy Holy Word, may forthwith give up 
ourselves obediently to fulfil Thy holy Command¬ 
ments; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
Amen. 

O Lord, our Saviour, who hast warned us that 
Thou wilt require much of those to whom much is 
given; Grant that we, whose lot Thou hast cast in 
so goodly an heritage, may strive together by prayer, 
by study of Thy Word, by the right use of Thy 
Sacraments, and by every other proper means, to fit 
ourselves for the work of extending to others, what 
we so richly enjoy; through Thy merits and medita¬ 
tion, whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost we 
worship ever, one God, world without end. Amen. 

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures 
to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in 
such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly 
digest them, that, as workmen who need not to be 
ashamed, we may rightly divide the Word of Truth, 


112 


Evangelism in the Church 


and so bring many souls to Thee; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

3. For Personal Workers, Themselves 

A Prayer of Self-Dedication 

O Lord, my Saviour, I am not worthy that Thou 
shouldst come under my roof; yet Thou hast honored 
Thy servant by calling him into fellowship with Thee 
in the salvation of mankind. To Thee and to Thy 
service I here dedicate my soul and body, beseech¬ 
ing Thee that Thou wilt enable me to live a sober, 
righteous and godly life, in which resolution do Thou, 
0 blessed Lord, confirm and strengthen me; that as 
I grow in grace and knowledge of Thy will, I may 
also increase in usefulness in Thy service, and win 
some souls for Thee; whom with the Father and the 
Holy Ghost I seek to love and glorify. Amen. 

For Divine Illumination and Guidance 

O God, Holy Ghost, sanctifier of the faithful, visit 
me, I pray Thee, with Thy love and favor. Enlighten 
my mind more and more with the light of the ever¬ 
lasting Gospel; and so guide me in its use that I may 
be instrumental in extending His Kingdom, O blessed 
Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son I seek to 
serve and glorify, now and ever. Amen. 

Brief , Preparatory Personal Prayers 

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy 
loving kindness. Wash me thoroughly from mine 


Appendix 


113 


iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; that I may 
speak joyfully to others of Thy saving power. Amen 

Make me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right 
spirit within me; that I may teach Thy ways unto 
them that know thee not, and that sinners may be 
converted unto Thee. Amen. 

Divine Physician of souls, give me such a sense of 
my sinfulness, and of my need of Thee to heal and 
keep me whole, that I may seek to bring others also 
to Thee for spiritual healing and life. Amen. 

0 Holy Ghost, shine into my heart to give me “the 
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ,” that so I may reflect His image for 
the salvation of others. Amen. 

0 Lord, my Great Companion, lead me ever more 
deeply into knowledge of Thy life and mine own; and 
help me to be an interpreter of Life to my fellow 
men according to Thy Gospel. Amen. 

Help me to remember, 0 Spirit of Truth, that some 
souls may never have a saving knowledge of Christ 
unless I tell them; and give me courage to speak 
boldly for Him as I ought to speak. Amen. 

I thank Thee, 0 Blessed Saviour, for Thy great 
redeeming love for us sinners. Help me ever to show 
my gratitude unto Thee for the same, by the faith¬ 
fulness of my service for Thee in the salvation of my 
fellow men. Amen. 

4. Personal Workers’ Prayers for Others 
For the Personal Workers 9 Groups 

0 Lord Jesus Christ, without whom our labor is 


114 Evangelism in the Church 

but lost, and with whom the meek go forth as the 
mighty; we humbly beseech Thee to prosper us, and 
all others engaged in the work of winning souls for 
Thee. And grant to each of us, Thy servants, a pure 
intention, patient faith, and such a measure of wis¬ 
dom, courage and strength as will enable us to bring 
home to Thy fold some of Thy wandering sheep, 
0 Blessed Shepherd of souls, whom with the Father 
and the Holy Ghost we worship as God forevermore. 
Amen. 

For Persons on the Regular Prayer List 

0 merciful God, who hast made all men, and de- 
sirest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he 
should be converted and live; have mercy upon all 
who know Thee not as revealed in the Gospel of Thy 
dear Son—(especially .... for whom our prayers 
are now offered) wherein they are sinful, bring them 
to repentance; where in doubt, give them the light of 
Thy truth; where tempted or weak, give them 
strength; and so quicken them by Thy Holy Spirit, 
that they may surrender their wills to Thine, their 
hearts to Thy love, their lives to Thy service; 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. 

For the Lapsed 

Hear us, O heavenly Father, for all those who sin 
against Thee by omission of their duty, by neglect 
of Thy law, by indifference to Thy love, by unbelief 
of Thy true revelation—(especially ....); and 
grant unto them the quickening influence of Thy Holy 
Spirit, that they may return from their wanderings 
to serve Thee with renewed zeal and devotion; we 


Appendix 


115 


ask this in the name of Him, who for our sakes, and 
for our salvation, was faithful even unto death, Thy 
Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

For the Unhaptized 

O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast taught us that “ex¬ 
cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit he 
cannot enter into the Kingdom of God,” have mercy 
upon the unbaptized (especially and grant 

them a saving knowledge of this Thy will; that so, 
coming to the laver of spiritual regeneration, and 
obtaining the remission of their sins, they may be 
found in Thee and incorporated into Thy holy 
Church; whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost 
we worship, one God. Amen. 


II 


BIBLIOGRAPHY ON EVANGELISM 

Of the many books published on this subject we 
give here only three in each of three classifications. 

1. For suggestiveness to the clergy regarding pas¬ 
toral Evangelism. 

Evangelism: Its Justification, Operation 

and Value. Wm. E. Biederwolff, D.D., Revell 
Co. $1.00. 

Evangelism: F. Watson Hannon, D.D., M. 
E. Book Concern. $1.50. 

The Evangelistic Cyclopedia: G. B. F. 
Hallock, D.D., Doran Co. $3.00. 

Allowance will of course be made for differences in 
denominational method and expression. The ideas 
are the important thing. And they can be adapted. 

2. For clergy and laity, in relation to Evangelism 
in Pulpit and Pew. 

Every-Member Evangelism: J. E. Conant, 
D.D., S. S. Times Co. $1.20. 

Jesus the Master Teacher : H. H. 
Horne, Ph.D., Association Press. $2.25. 

Enlisting for Christ and the Church : 
Howard Agnew Johnson, Association Press. 
$1.25. 


[116] 


Appendix 


117 


3. For individual or Group Study of Methods in 
Personal Evangelism. 

The Human Element in the Making of a 
Christian: Bertha Conde. Scribners. $1.25. 

Personal Work: Rev. R. A. Torrey, Revell 
Co. Practical in method. Rich in material. 
With doctrinal adaptation becomes interdenomi- 
nationally serviceable. 

The Evangelism of Jesus: E. C. Wareing. 
Abingdon Press. $1.25. 

N. B. For those who wish to engage in other 
basic studies of religious experience, two books on 
Psychology will prove helpful: 

An Introduction to the Psychology of 
Religion : Robert H. Thouless, Macmillan 
Co. 

Recent Psychology and the Christian 
Religion: Cyril E. Hudson, Doran Co. 


Ill 


EVIDENCE THAT THE NEED FOR A 
RESTORATION OF EVANGELISM TO 
THE PROGRAM OF PARISHES 
IS RECOGNIZED 

1. Official resolutions adopted at a meeting of the 
“Bishop and Council” of the Diocese of Tennessee, in 
1923. 

Resolved: That the Bishop and Council of the 
Diocese of Tennessee desire to recognize and heartily 
commend the program of the National Council for 
Evangelism, as presented by its Commission on 
Parochial Preaching Missions. And to this end it 
invites the clergy and the laity of the diocese, actively 
and continuously to devote themselves to this great 
object of their Christian calling, enjoined by their 
ordination, and as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

That, as Evangelism is the heart of the Church’s 
work and ministry, the Council urges the clergy to 
emphasize this evangelistic message frequently from 
the pulpit and chancel; and to lay upon the laity 
their obligation and privilege of engaging and as¬ 
sisting in a determined effort to win men’s souls to 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to their consecration 
to Him in Baptism and Confirmation. 

That the Council begs to suggest that the Diocesan 
may see fit to indite a letter to the clergy and laity 
of the diocese for the purpose of presenting his ap- 
118 


Appendix 


119 


peal also, that both these orders enter upon a definite 
and continued pursuit of active Evangelism. 

That a copy of this resolution be presented by the 
secretary to all the clergy and all vestries of the 
diocese. 

Signed, (Rev.) Arthur H. Noll, 

Sec’y. 

The Bishops of this diocese were both present when 
this resolution was introduced by a layman. After 
its passage arrangements were made by them for 
Clinical Missions in three strategic centers to assist 
the clergy and laity in a more widespread adoption 
of the above program, the General Missioners being 
called in to direct such work. 

2. Excerpts from an address by a layman during 

the regular Sunday morning service in . 

parish,. 

“Let us further resolve to develop in this Church 
a spirit of Evangelism. We are too prone to keep 
our religion to ourselves instead of imparting it to 
others. The Church is not created for its own sake, 

or for the selfish benefit of its own members. 

The layman has no higher duty or privilege than that 
of bringing men to Christ. There are in our midst 
scores of baptized and unbaptized persons, some of 
them having Episcopal antecedents, whom we should 
seek to bring to the rector for baptism or confirma¬ 
tion.” 

And again, in addressing the Church school he 
said,— 

“Not only do our vows in baptism commit us, but 
our loyalty and devotion to Christ impel us to wit- 





120 


Evangelism in the Church 


ness to our love for Him. What He brought into our 
lives, we must pass on to others. He said, ‘Be not 
afraid. Go, tell.* ” 

“What are we, as laymen, laywomen, as officers of 
the Church and Church School, and as teachers and 
pupils doing in a personal way towards bringing oth¬ 
ers to Christ in Holy Baptism and Confirmation; and 
to arouse the passive Church member to active serv¬ 
ice? Let us not feel that we can discharge this, our 
home missionary obligation, by proxy—through the 
rector, or by a mere contribution of money .... 
but let us resolve to seek, by personal effort, to win 
our friends, neighbors and others for the faith, bless¬ 
ing and salvation which Christ alone can give.” 

This parish now has an active Personal Workers’ 
League as a regular part of its working force. 


IV 


SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF 
A PERSONAL WORKERS’ LEAGUE 
IN A PARISH 

(This is proposed only for parishes m which 

there is no Chapter of the Brotherhood of St. 

Andrew , or of the Daughters of the King). 

1. Some basic elements of such organizational 

work. 

Let us assume that the rector of a parish desires 
to include a sane Evangelism in the parochial pro¬ 
gram. 

Imagine a small group of carefully selected men 
(or women) who have this vision, and are willing to 
co-operate with the rector in such a program. 

They would meet for prayer, counsel and organiza¬ 
tion for an unheralded campaign of a very confiden¬ 
tial nature; and would proceed somewhat as fol¬ 
lows : 


(a) Agree to meet, weekly or semi-monthly, 
for prayer and definite study of the Bible and 
some other book of methods in personal Evan¬ 
gelism. 

(b) At these, or other meetings appointed 
specially for actual work, each member could 
suggest the names of one or more persons, 
whether lapsed Churchman, or member of no 

[ 121 ] 


122 


Evangelism in the Church 


Church, for both corporate and private prayer. 
These names, and others added by the rector, 
would then be placed on the prayer list 
of all the members of the Personal Workers 5 
League. 

(c) From time to time the chairman would 
assign one or more of these names to each mem¬ 
ber of the League, with a view to establishing 
such points of contact or relationship as would 
afford him the natural opportunity for personal 
conversation on the subject of religion, Church 
membership, etc. 

(d) At subsequent meetings the members 
would be expected to report to the chairman re¬ 
garding the progress and status of their par¬ 
ticular assignments. It may be necessary at 
times for the chairman to readjust these assign¬ 
ments entirely. Once a month, at least, the 
chairman would report to the rector, confiden¬ 
tially, the results to date. 

N. B. This work must be quietly done. All infor¬ 
mation should be held as strictly confidential among 
the members of the League. No embarrassment need 
ever be caused for any one. And as results began to 
appear, the workers would find some of the joy which 
our Lord said was felt “among the angels of heaven 
over the sinner that repenteth. 55 Such a program has 
already been found well worth trying, by several par¬ 
ishes in which increased spiritual power, large con¬ 
firmation classes, and a widening influence in the com¬ 
munity have resulted. 


Appendix 


123 


2. Excerpts from the informal By-Laws, or work¬ 
ing Platform of a Personal Workers’ League. 

(a) Objectives: 

To try to bring persons who are not Chris¬ 
tians to a saving knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ. 

We seek to lead such persons into covenant 
relations with God in baptism, for the forgive¬ 
ness of sins, regeneration unto life, and incorpo¬ 
ration into the Church. 

To impress all unconfirmed persons, and in 
particular those who were baptized in infancy, 
with the need and blessing of the holy rite of 
Confirmation, that they may themselves, openly 
make their confession of Jesus Christ, and re¬ 
ceive the further gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

To arouse the careless, indifferent and passive 
Churchman to a recognition of the significance 
of his religious vows, to the benefits of regular 
worship, communions, and active Christian 
service in the Church for others. 

To persuade, encourage and win others to 
engage in personal Evangelism. 

To advocate, as well as to engage in daily 
private or family prayers in the home. 

(b) The worker. 

He must be so conscious of his duty as a sin¬ 
cere disciple of Jesus Christ that he will desire 
to lead others to Him. 

He must study the Bible in such a way as to 
give him ability to use it in actual personal soul¬ 
winning. 


124 


Evangelism in the Church 


And to this end he will pray for the guidance 
of the Holy Spirit. 

He will feel his own unworthiness so as to 
make him an humble disciple (learner) of Christ 
in his approaches to men. 

He will seek to meet these and other necessary 
conditions, so as to fulfil his responsibility to his 
fellow men. 

(c) Methods. 

It is usually not advisable for a worker to 
speak to another about his spiritual welfare until 
he has informed himself of his religious ante¬ 
cedents, views and other matters upon which 
judicious approaches depend. The application 
of consecrated common sense is most important. 

Much can be accomplished through the use of 
books, pamphlets or even written articles in 
periodicals, to interest, instruct and help bring 
men to a decision. 

Invitations to Church services, calls by other 
members, introduction to the pastor and similar 
evidences of personal interest are of great value. 

Continued prayer and watchful waiting for 
evidence of the influence of the Holy Spirit are 
also wise. 


V 


LETTER FROM A PERSONAL WORKERS’ 
COMMITTEE 

Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

December 4, 1923. 
Rev. R. Bland Mitchell, 

281 Fourth Avenue, 

New York City. 

Dear and Reverend Sir: 

Through the courtesy of Rev. J. A. Schaad 
the undersigned laymen have had the privilege 
of examining and reading the manuscript of his 
book entitled, “Evangelism in the Church,” and 
without his request, but because of our intense 
interest in its purpose, we desire to offer you our 
unreserved endorsement of this book with the hope 
that it may receive approval for early publication. 

We speak from experience, for we have been 
undertaking for three years personal work in 
this parish, similar to that of the Brotherhood, 
except that the workers are older men. 

For inspiration and instruction we have had 
to rely on personal workers’ handbooks whose 
authors are not of our Church, and the Brother¬ 
hood has no particular publication in its field of 
work that presents the subject as Mr. Schaad’s 
book does. 

So we believe this book will supply a great 
need and will be not only of inestimable value 
for Brotherhood Chapters and in the work of 
the Daughters of the King, but will also create 
[ 126 ] 


126 Evangelism in the Church 

in laymen the desire, and show them how to 
pursue personal evangelistic work. 

Still further this book itself should induce 
rectors to select and organize, with instruction 
in and use of this book, groups of mature lay¬ 
men for the purpose of undertaking personal 
evangelistic work. 

The Evangelistic Program approved by the 
General Convention as presented by the Com¬ 
mission on Parochial Missions is the crying need 
of the Church today and whenever it is 
thoroughly undertaken you may expect greater 
results than come by the N. W. C. without it. 

The great power of the laymen can only be 
mobilized under the banner of Evangelism, for 
there is no other motive or activity that will 
receive in greater measure the blessing and 
power of the Holy Spirit, and, at the same time, 
attract and hold the allegiance of laymen than 
this; and there is no better way to present and 
have this program become an active force in 
the Church than to get into the hands of 
Churchmen for their hearts’ adoption this scrip¬ 
tural presentation of the subject by Mr. Schaad. 

With all due respect, we are, 

Yours sincerely, 

Personal Workers’ Committee of St. Paul’s 

Church. 

(Signed) W. J. Dodge, Chairman. 

I. L. FAUCETT S. BARTON STRANG 

WILLARD WARNER HENRY C. FLOURNOY 

M. M. ALLISON H. CHARLTON FOX 

E. SCOTT MILES SAM H. SEYMOUR 


VI 


PRINTED MATTER FOR OFFICE RECORD 
AND PERSONAL USE 

1. Assignment cards. 

(a) Office record. 

(b) Worker’s guide. 

2. Report forms. 

(a) Member to chairman. 

(b) Chairman to rector. 

3. Cards of invitation, and other matter to be 
given by the worker to his “prospect.” 

This is too large and varied a field to permit sam¬ 
ples in this limited space. 


Additional copies of this Handbook 
may be obtained from The Book Store, 
Church Missions House, 281 Fourth 
Avenue, New York. Price, Board cov¬ 
ers, 35c; Paper covers, 25c. 


1 Ed. 4-24, 7600 Con. 















































